July Rain
by born-on-sunday
Summary: A different life for Lorelai than the one Amy Sherman Palladino created. This is a heartfilled story of a young Lorelai desperate to find her place and her purpose. The story will touch you. The outcome will amaze you. Sequel coming soon! COMPLETE
1. Little Child

"Lorelai, clean this room immediately!" Emily shouted. "You have thirty minutes to have this bedroom presentable, or I'm telling your father."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Okay."

Lorelai began to pick up random toys around her room and throw them in a large cardboard box which was used for their storage. She passed by one of her electronic games; instead of placing the game inside the box, she decided she would turn it on.

"I'll put it on hangman." Lorelai said to herself. "I can guess a letter every time I walk by and still get my room cleaned."

As needless and pointless as this may have seemed, to ten year old Lorelai it was genius. Not to mention it would make the cleaning process go by quicker.

Emily, who was in earshot of Lorelai's room, heard the start up tone of her daughter's game. "I swear to God…" Emily grumbled as she marched toward Lorelai's room. Emily burst through the door frightening Lorelai. "Lorelai Gilmore! I explicitly told you to clean your room!"

"I am Mommy!" Lorelai defended.

"Don't lie to me." Lorelai scoffed. "You turn that game off, understand?"

"But, Mommy…."

"Lorelai, turn it off!" Emily screeched.

Lorelai reached over and turned off the game. She began to pout and fight back tears.

"If I have to come in here one more time, and tell you to clean your room, you'll be receiving a spanking." Emily placed her hands on her hips. "Is that clear?"

Lorelai shook her head to show that she understood. Emily left Lorelai's room and walked down the hallway. Lorelai ran to her door and slammed it.

"I hate her!" Lorelai yelled. "I wish she would die!" Lorelai stomped around the room. "She's so mean, I swear I can't stand her!"

Lorelai picked up one of her dolls and violently threw it across the room. "If she died, I wouldn't care… I wouldn't even cry." Lorelai continued. "Me and my Daddy would be so much happier if she were dead."

A few minutes later, Lorelai gazed around at her neat room. Pleased that she had finished the job, she left in search of her father. She found him sitting in his study.

"Daddy…" Lorelai began as she poked her head through the door.

"Yes, Lorelai?" The friendly voice asked.

"May I come in?"

"You may." Richard smiled.

Lorelai tip toed into the room. "What are you doing?" She asked sweetly.

"Oh, just some paperwork." Richard replied as he continued to rummage through the stacks of papers.

"Can I help?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"I wish you could, sweetheart." Richard laughed. "I could use an assistant."

"I can do it, Daddy." Lorelai boasted. "I'm in the 5th grade."

Richard looked up from his desk. "That you are." He agreed. "You're growing up to be a very pretty young lady."

"So, can I help?" Lorelai asked, changing back to the previous subject.

"I'll tell you what, if there's anything I need that you can do for me, I'll call you immediately."

"Are we still going to play cards later?" Lorelai rocked back and forth on her heels.

Richard smiled. "Of course sweetheart. I wouldn't miss our card game for the world. What are we playing for tonight, by the way?"

Lorelai's face brightened. "World Champion!" She exclaimed.

"World Champion?" Richard gasped. "My goodness… I thought we were playing for State Champion."

Lorelai shook her head no. "World Champion is better."

"Of course… Of course.." Richard agreed. "Well then, tonight the World Champion of Crazy 8's will be declared."

"I'll go make a certificate!" Lorelai replied, becoming overly excited with the idea.

"Be sure to put my name on it." Richard teased.

Lorelai turned and smiled at her father. "You'll have to beat me first." She remarked as she closed his office door.

Lorelai ran back down the hall way to her room. She quickly grabbed her construction paper and scissors. Next came the crayons, glitter, glue, and sparkles. Finally, she pieced together a beautifully directed certificate. She held it up to view. She silently sat in adoration of her project.

Emily walked into Lorelai's room. "Lorelai, I'm having the made fix chicken this evening, would you like yours baked or roasted?" Emily quickly spotted the mess Lorelai had made with the art supplies. "Lorelai, I told you to clean this room!"

"I did!" Lorelai objected. "It got dirty again while I was making Daddy and me a certificate." Lorelai showed the artwork to her mother. "See, we're playing for World Champion tonight."

Emily took the certificate and held it up to her face. "It's very nice." Emily said dully. "Clean up your mess." She handed the paper back to Lorelai and left the room.

Lorelai sighed. Why couldn't her mother be as nice and as fun as her father? Her mother was always so mean and hateful. Lorelai began to clean up the art supplies and put them back into her desk. A few minutes later the room looked just as neat as it had the first time she cleaned it.


	2. Oh Darling

"Honestly, Richard… You baby that girl far too much." Emily protested. "She's going to turn out spoiled, you know."

Richard sighed. "Emily, it's just a trip to the circus."

"Sure, a trip to the circus today… tomorrow it will be a pony or a new car." Emily rolled her eyes.

"I wish you would reconsider." Richard said while putting on his jacket. "I'm sure you'd have a good time with us."

"Richard, I find nothing about being in a large tent with smelly animals a good time."

Richard nodded his head. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. Lorelai, are you ready?"

Lorelai came galloping down the stairs. "Yes, sir." She exclaimed. Lorelai's eyes met her mother's. "Are you coming too, Mommy?"

"No, dear." Emily replied. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Come along, Lorelai. We don't want to be late." Richard extended his hand to the small girl. Lorelai placed her tiny hand into the larger one. She glanced back at her mother one last time before leaving.

In the car, Richard had turned on one of his favorite radio stations. Lorelai was sitting quietly in the passenger seat pondering over her mother.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Lorelai?" Richard asked continuing to tap his hand to the music.

"Why does Mommy never want to have any fun?"

Richard reached over and turned volume down on the car radio. "Your mother wants to have fun, Lorelai. Sometimes parents get caught up in important, busy things and they don't have time to have fun."

"But you work all the time." Lorelai concluded. "And you make time to have fun."

"Well, I'm different than your mother." Richard remarked. "She's a very proper woman. Very respectable and very strict. You have a wonderful mother, Lorelai. Don't you ever forget it."

"I just wish she would play with me." Lorelai bit her bottom lip. "I've been thinking…Can we have another baby?"

Richard was taken aback by his daughter's spur of the moment question. "Where on earth did you get an idea like that?"

"If we had another baby, I'd have someone to play with." Lorelai's bright blue eyes opened widely. "I'd take care of it, Daddy. I promise."

"Sweetheart, I'm sure you would." Richard agreed. "But did you ever stop to think that by the time the baby was old enough to play with you, you'll be concerned about different things?"

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Boys. Cars. Hopefully, college." Richard replied.

"I'm going to Harvard…" Lorelai said raising her chin in the air. "I heard Mommy tell aunt Elizabeth that I was."

Richard chuckled. "Well, we'll keep our fingers crossed."

"So, we can't have a baby?" Lorelai asked, still thinking about the initial question.

"I'm afraid not." Richard answered. "But don't worry, before you know it, you and your mother will have a multitude of things to do together."

Lorelai leaned back in the seat. Maybe her father was right. Maybe her mother didn't like to play games, but perhaps they could do other things. Lorelai decided to let it be, and enjoy the rest of the day with her father.

Later that evening, Richard brought home a very exhausted ten year old girl. He carried her up the stairs and to her room. As he was leaving, he bumped into his wife.

"Oh, Richard, for heaven's sake!" Emily replied in a high whisper. "I thought you were a burglar."

Richard smirked. "And you were coming out to defend yourself?"

"I was coming to see if it was a burglar." Emily replied. "It's nearly 10:30. Why are you so late?"

"We had a wonderful time today Emily." Richard said as he walked into their bedroom. "After the circus, Lorelai and I went to the park. There was a carnival in town, can you believe it? A carnival and a circus on the same day. Lorelai didn't know what to think." Richard smiled as he sat down on the bed. "She's exhausted, the poor child."

"You shouldn't have stayed out so late." Emily scolded. "I was getting very worried."

"I know. I would have called, but I never found the time." Richard changed into his pajama's. "Next time, I'll be sure to let you know that we'll be arriving home late."

"Well, while you and Lorelai were out living the high life, I've dealt with massive issues today. The bathroom toilet clogged this afternoon and I had to call a plumber. It cost nearly 100 dollars just to unclog it. Honestly, you'd think he was performing a surgical procedure. Then, Lorelai's school called today."

"Good news, I hope." Richard interjected as he crawled beneath the bed covers.

"Neither good nor bad. Just strange." Emily answered. "Her grades are fine. Her behavior is acceptable. But she doesn't associate with any of the other children." Emily replied. "The teacher says that she'll sit by herself during recess and read a book, or draw."

"There's nothing strange about being a bit reserved." Richard said as he positioned himself comfortably. "Lorelai appreciates the finer things such as reading and drawing."

"She should make more friends." Emily proclaimed. "And it's time for her to grow out of her tom boyish stage. She's a young lady now, and it's time for her to act like one."

"Emily, darling, I really think you're over reacting."

"Actually, Richard darling, I believe I've been under reacting. Things have got to change around here."

Richard inhaled deeply. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. For now, let's get some rest."


	3. Anna

A/N: I am not sure when Lorelai's birthday really is. I've decided to make her birthday May 24 because it will eventually fall into place with the entire story. If by chance you know the real birthday, please set it aside just for this story… thanks )

"A puppy!" Emily shrieked. "Absolutely not!"

"Emily, I've already bought it." Richard replied as he continued to play with the energetic little creature.

"Then you'll just have to take it back."

"Oh, now, Lorelai's birthday is coming up in a few weeks. We'll just call it an early birthday gift."

Emily placed her hand to her forehead. "Richard, I refuse to have a dog in this house."

Richard put the puppy inside it's box. "Lorelai needs someone she can play with, Emily. You said it yourself that she's too antisocial."

"You cannot be social with a dog!" Emily roared. "If this is some attempt to mock me, Richard Gilmore…"

"Oh, here we go!" Richard yelled in return. "You can't let the girl have any sort of a childhood! Children are supposed to have pets, Emily."

Emily's anger rose. "Yes, play the hero, Richard…"

"Excuse me?" Richard asked.

"You know you build yourself up in front of that girl… And what am I? I am the wicked mother who isn't any fun… who isn't playful… who won't go to the circus or allow animals in the house."

"Well, you're not any fun." Richard agreed.

"Lorelai thinks you hung the sun and the moon and the stars…" Emily's eyes began to water. "She loves you more than she loves me."

"You sound ridiculous Emily. So what if I spend more time with the girl… Someone has to."

"You're not giving her that dog, and that is final!" Emily screeched.

"I'll give her anything I want to give her, she's my daughter!"

"Well, she's my daughter too!"

Richard and Emily became face to face yelling at each other. Neither one of them had noticed the small girl standing in the doorway.

"I ought to just leave you, woman!" Richard replied bitterly. "You're impossible!"

"Go ahead, but don't you dare think you're taking that child a step. If you so much as even think of taking off with her, I'll call the police."

"Stop it!" Lorelai shouted as tears streamed down her face. "Stop fighting!"

Richard and Emily turned and faced their daughter. "I don't care about the stupid dog. Stop fighting… I love both of you!"

"Look what you've done, you've upset the girl." Richard said as he walked over to Lorelai.

"That's right Richard, go to the rescue!"

"Stop!" Lorelai yelled to the top of her lungs. "Please, stop!"

"Shh, it's okay." Richard said softly as he picked up the child. "We've stopped."

Emily watched as her husband comforted the crying girl. She fiddled with her earrings for a few seconds, then slowly walked out of the room.

"Mommy…" Lorelai's muffled voice called over her father's shoulder.

Emily turned around as she reached the doorway. Richard placed Lorelai on the floor. She walked over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You should think of a good name for your puppy." Emily whispered as she held the child next to her. "I'll find some old pillows and we can make it a bed."

Emily released herself from her daughter's grasp and continued out of the room. Lorelai turned back to her father who silently cursing himself for the horrible things he had said. His eyes moved upward and caught the gaze of his blue eyed beauty.

"Is it a boy or girl?" Lorelai asked.

"It's a girl." Richard gently replied.

"Anna." Lorelai said blankly. "I'll call her Anna."


	4. I Saw Her Standing There

"I want this party to be the very best." Emily spoke into the phone as she took another sip of tea. "My daughter is turning eleven years old."

"Yes, Mrs. Gilmore." The voice replied. "We'll make sure your daughter's every need is taken care of."

"I want the finest apple cider you have to offer, and a double decked birthday cake. There shall be white icing with red and pink flowers."

"Is there any particular thing you want the cake to say, Mrs. Gilmore?"

"Happy Birthday is fine." Emily replied. "The children are only going to eat the words, no sense in making a fuss over them."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I expect everything to be delivered Friday morning at 9:00."

"No problem." The friendly voice answered. "Thank you for your business. Have a wonderful day, Mrs. Gilmore."

Emily hung up the phone. She took another sip of tea, and let out a long sigh. Richard walked into the dining room.

"Who was you on the phone with?" Richard asked as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"The bakery." Emily replied. "I've been sitting up the plans for Lorelai's party Friday."

"Friday is a bit early, don't you think?" Richard asked. "Her birthday isn't for another week."

Emily was hesitant to answer. She stiffened her lip. "Friday is the best day, Richard."

Richard nodded. "If you say so." He began sipping his tea. " But I don't know if I'll be able to get off work Friday."

Emily's eyes bulged. "Of course you'll get off work early. It's your daughter's birthday."

"No, the 24th is my daughter's birthday." He corrected. "I've already arranged to have that day completely free."

"Well, then change the days, Richard." Emily replied hatefully.

"I'll do what I can. You know I will."

Emily stood from the table. "I have much more planning to do."

Richard watched as his wife exited the dining room. What had happened to the joyful, carefree woman that he married thirteen years ago? Emily used to be so vibrant and full of life. He remembered the first time he saw her. She was so lovely and elegant.

"_Hey! Richard, you made it!" Donald extended his hand to his friend. _

_Richard gladly accepted the handshake. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Donnie." Richard replied. _

"_Can you believe it?" Donald asked. "We're graduating tomorrow." _

"_I can hardly comprehend it." Richard smiled. "Yale University has always seemed so far away. Now it's right at my door step." _

"_I'll always be a Harvard man." Donald replied. "But we'll see each other at games and such. I won't let our friendship be destroyed by a silly rivalry." _

"_Of course." Richard agreed. "Neither would I." _

_Donald lead Richard into the library of his house. "There's some friends here that I want you to meet." _

_Donald opened the door and Richard followed him inside. "Everyone, this is Richard Gilmore." Donald announced. "Richard, this is Steven, Janice, Enoch, Walter, and …." Donald paused. "Hey, Walter, who is that you have there?" _

_Walter smiled and turned around. "Oh, uh… this is umm… Emily." He replied, finally remembering the name. _

"_A different girl every night." Donald replied as he shook his head. "Anyway, everyone this guy here is my best friend." Donald continued as he placed his arm around Richard's shoulder. "So, be nice." _

_Richard eyes fell upon the attractive brunette. He couldn't help but admire her. Her dark brown eyes were like tiny drops of chocolate. She appeared to be having a dreadful time. Especially, after the comment Donald had just made. _

"_I'll be back in a minute." Walter directed to Emily. "Stay here." _

_Emily nodded as the boy walked away. Richard waited till Walter was out of the room then he approached the young girl. _

"_Hello." Richard greeted. _

"_Hello." _

"_How are you this evening?" Richard inquired. _

"_Miserable." Emily replied as she sighed. "I never should have agreed to come with Walter. It's like I am a toy. He'll flaunt me around the room for a few hours, then I'll be tossed aside until there's a new toy to play with." _

"_Well, that doesn't sound like much fun." Richard concluded. _

"_No." Emily agreed. "It's not." _

_Richard cleared his throat. "Pardon me if this too forward, but why don't you just leave the party?" _

"_I rode with Walter." Emily said, the regret flowing from her words. "I'm stranded here till he decides he's ready to leave." _

"_Well, I only plan on staying for a short while." Richard began. "I could take you home if you'd like." _

"_Oh, no." Emily blushed. "I couldn't ask you to do that." _

"_It'd be a pleasure." Richard smiled. _

"_I don't know. It may upset Walter if I left." _

_Richard stepped a little closer to the girl. His immediately picked up her aroma. She smelled like a field of flowers sprinkled with sugar. What a wonderfully, sweet smell. "I'm not so sure he would even notice." Richard remarked. _

_Emily smiled. "I doubt he would." She let her brown locks fall across her face as she giggled. "Alright, I'll let you take me home."_

Richard caught himself smiling as he relived that moment from fifteen years ago. He could hear Emily in the other room spitting out demands and giving orders. She was so much colder now.


	5. All You Need Is Love

A/N: Sorry for another Author's Note, but I keep running into small detailed problems. I am not sure if Emily's maiden name is ever mentioned in the show. To my knowledge, no it is not. However, I have came up with a suitable last name for the younger Emily. Hanson. It's short it's sweet and it's sophisticated. I know it may not sound like the name of a rich high class family, but what do you expect Vanderbilt or something? Lol…

"But Mommy…" Lorelai pouted.

"No buts, Lorelai." Emily interjected. "You're wearing this dress."

"I can't play in a dress."

"Young ladies are not supposed to run around like chickens." Emily straightened the ruffle on Lorelai's dress. "You look marvelous."

"I feel stupid." Lorelai frowned. "Why can't I just wear jeans?"

"Lorelai, I have paid more than enough money for this dress and this party." Emily lowered her voice. "Do not put up a fight with me."

"This party is for you." Lorelai replied. "It's not for me."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course it's for you."

"It is not!" Lorelai objected. "You just want to show off in front of your friends."

"That's enough." Emily replied sternly. "You're going to wear this dress, present yourself as a lady, and do as your told. Understand?"

"I hate you!" Lorelai screeched. "I hate you!"

Lorelai ran from her bedroom and slammed the door. She continued to run until she had ran completely out of the house and outside to the garden. She stopped when she reached the fence. Her face had turned beat red from crying. She knew that running to the garden would not cease Emily Gilmore, and sure enough it was only a brief moment of solitude.

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore!" Emily stomped out into the garden. "You march right back into that house, immediately!"

Part of Lorelai wanted to jump the fence and just keep running until she couldn't run anymore. But in all honesty, she knew that she had to go back inside. She had to go to the party and wear the dress. She had to act as if she were a young lady. She would sit perfectly still and not run around or play.

"I said immediately!" Emily roared again, pointing back to the house.

Lorelai brushed by her mother and hurried back into the house. She passed Richard on the way inside.

"What is going on here?" Richard asked as he placed his briefcase on the table.

"Nothing." Lorelai continued up the stairs to her room.

Emily stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. "Richard, you made it." Emily noted.

"Yes." Richard replied. "Jenkins was more than understanding about the party."

"Good." Emily smiled. "I knew you'd be here." Emily walked passed Richard and into the dinning room. "Joan…" Emily called the maid. "Make sure the delivery men know where to set up the tables. I have to bring Lorelai's presents up from the basement."

"Yes ma'am." The maid replied.

Richard ascended the staircase to Lorelai's room. He found her sitting by the window.

"That's a beautiful dress." Richard said as he set down beside his daughter.

"I hate dresses." Lorelai remarked.

"I know." Richard answered. "But sometimes you have to wear them."

"Why?" Lorelai asked quickly. "How does wearing a dress make anything different? Except for me being miserable while I'm in it."

"Women are supposed to wear dresses." Richard concluded. "It's just a part of society. I'm not saying you have to wear them all the time, but in certain circumstances, they're appropriate."

"I'll never make my daughter wear a dress." Lorelai said assertively. "She could wear jeans every day, and I wouldn't care."

"You know in some countries, women aren't even allowed to drive… or vote… or even leave the house without a man with them."

Lorelai's attention was suddenly focused on this comment. "Really?"

"Really." Richard repeated. "That's one of the great things about living in America. We have freedom. If you think about it, compared to not being able to do all of those things, wearing a dress for a party doesn't seem so bad."

Lorelai exhaled deeply. "I guess not."

Richard smiled as he patted the girl on the head. "It's just for a few hours, sweetheart. You can tolerate it for a few hours."

"Okay." Lorelai finally caved.

After the party had came to a close, Emily stood by the door and watched as every guest left.

"Good bye, Marge, Theodore, Luster." Emily nodded her head with each name.

"Wonderful party." Marge replied. "You out do yourself every year."

"Great crab cakes." Theodore added.

"Thank you all for coming." Emily replied.

As the last of the guests left, Emily closed the door and leaned against it. She pressed her hand to her stomach and wiped at her forehead.

"Emily…" Richard called as he walked through the house. "I could have sworn that I brought my cigar case in here. Have you…"

Richard noticed his wife's frail position. He quickly ran to her side. "Emily?" He asked concerned. "Are you okay? Emily?"

"I'm fine." Emily faintly replied. "I just need to…" Emily's body became limp as her eyes shut and her head drooped.

"Emily?" Richard held his wife in his arms. "Joan!... Joan!"

"Yes, Sir?" The maid came galloping into the foyer.

"Call an ambulance! My wife is ill!" Richard demanded.

"Yes, Sir!" The maid frantically replied as she ran to the phone.

"Emily, can you hear me?" Richard tried to hold up her head, but it repeatedly fell. "Emily, darling…" Richard shook her gently. "Emily!"

"_Well, Donald it's been a spectacular party, but I have to be going." Richard replied. _

"_Sure was swell having you stop by." Donald said patting Richard on the back_

"_Thanks for inviting me." _

_Emily walked up behind Richard. "I'm ready, Richard." _

_Donald let out a huff. "Are you taking Emily home, Richard?" _

"_Yes, I am." Richard replied. _

"_Didn't you come with Walter?" Donald asked Emily. _

"_I did, Donald. But I have decided to leave with Richard." Emily smiled. "Be a dear and tell Walter where I've gone, incase he asks." _

"_Well, I doubt he'll notice…" Donald chuckled "But if he does, I'll sure tell him." _

"_I'll see you tomorrow." Richard said as he shook Donald's hand one last time. _

_Emily and Richard left the house. Richard guided Emily out to his car and opened the door for her. _

"_A 57 Cadillac." Emily gasped. "It's beautiful." _

"_You know cars?" Richard asked, becoming impressed. _

"_My father has a large collection." Emily admitted. "My mother gave birth to five girls. He had no son to share his love for automobiles with. I tried to learn as much as I could about them." _

"_That's pretty impressive." Richard replied as he closed the passenger door and walked around. _

"_What's impressive is that you're going to Yale." Emily retorted as Richard slipped into his seat. _

"_Impressive?" Richard asked. "Not hardly… My father went to Yale and so did his father and I'd say if you traced it back far enough one of my ancestors helped found it. It's more of an expectation rather than an accomplishment." _

"_I've always dreamed of going to a university." Emily smiled. _

"_Why don't you?" _

"_Father believes a woman's place is at home." _

"_Times are changing." Richard added as he pulled onto the main highway. "I heard that by the seventies, there will be more women in the workplace than men." _

_Emily laughed. "I don't know about that." _

"_I think that a woman pursuing her education at college is magnificent." _

"_You do?" Emily asked as a spark of light entered her eyes. _

"_Very much." Richard answered. "Have you applied to Yale?" _

"_Oh, heavens no." Emily said. "I'm only seventeen. I have another year of high school." _

"_Ah…" Richard noted. "Well, then I insist, you must apply to Yale next year." _

"_I'm not so sure my father would approve of that." _

"_Why, I bet if you explain to him that you want to continue your education, he'd gladly support you." _

"_Richard, you're so easy to talk to." Emily replied as she placed her hand on his. "Thank you for everything." _

"_You're welcome." Richard's heart began to beat faster and faster. "So, where exactly do you reside?" _

"_I live on Barker's Avenue." Emily answered. "It's right up here around the corner." _

_Richard made a mental note of the address. "Perhaps we could meet up again sometime?" Richard asked, his body becoming tense. _

"_I'd like that." Emily took out a pen from her purse. "This is my private number. You can call anytime you like." Emily jotted the number down on a napkin left over from the party. _

_Richard pulled into the driveway. He took the napkin and folded it into his pocket. "I'll be sure to keep this." _

"_Good bye, Richard." Emily opened the car door. "You take good care of this car." Emily stepped out and closed the door. _

"_Good bye." Richard's eyes followed the beautiful creature up the sidewalk and into the house. After a brief moment of peace, Richard pulled out of the Hanson driveway. _


	6. I Just Don't Understand

Richard sat in the waiting room with his head bowed. This had been the worst evening of his entire life. The doctors and nurses seemed to know nothing about the condition of Emily. It had already been several hours and the only information that Richard had received was that she was still alive. He felt weak, but was too nauseas to eat, too upset to sleep, and too distraught to find something to take his mind off the situation.

Finally, a doctor approached Richard with information concerning Emily. "Mr. Gilmore." The doctor began. "I'm sorry that you have had to wait so long."

"Please." Richard begged. "Just tell me how she is."

"She's very sick, sir." The doctor replied. "Your wife encountered a stroke earlier this evening. That's what caused her to lose consciousness. After running tests, we found more problems. Did you know that your wife is a diabetic?"

Richard shook his head. "No, I had no idea."

The doctor paused. "Were you aware that your wife has breast cancer?"

Richard's eyes filled with tears. He tried to hold them back, but he was failing. "No, sir." He replied. "I wasn't. How bad is it?"

"Underneath her breasts are black." The doctor continued. "She's obviously been fighting breast cancer for quite a while and obviously without treatment. The diabetes are at the worst stage, and the stroke…." The doctor paused. "The stroke has damaged the left side of her brain. She is in a deep coma."

"Oh my God!" Richard cried as the tears streamed from his eyes and he felt his knees give out from under him.

"I am very sorry." The doctor replied, as he himself fought back severe emotions. "This is always the worst part of my job."

"Is she going …. Going to live?" Richard asked, as his voice found its way through his tears.

"I've seen miracles before, Mr. Gilmore." The doctor honestly replied. "We'll do what we can for her. But, I won't lie to you… she's probably not going to live much longer. Her body has sustained a powerful hit of sickness."

Richard collapsed into a seat and buried his head into his hands.

"I suggest you call in the family." The doctor replied.

(The Gilmore House)

"I want to see my Daddy!" Lorelai yelled. "Take me to him!"

"Lorelai, I am sorry, but I cannot do that." Richard's sister replied.

"Where are my parents?" Lorelai asked frantically.

"I told you, dear, they had to go take care of some business."

"You're lying!"

"Joan!" Sabrina called. "Can you come here for a moment please."

"Yes, ma'am?" Joan asked.

Sabrina walked closer to the maid. "I cannot handle this girl." Sabrina whispered. "She is intolerable."

"Ma'am she's upset over her parents." Joan sympathized.

"What about myself?" Sabrina asked offensively. "Do I not have a right to be upset? That is my brother and my sister-in-law. _She_ doesn't even know what is happening."

"Of course ma'am." Joan quickly replied. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Sabrina placed her hand to her forehead. "I need a drink. Watch the girl." Sabrina exited the living room.

Lorelai was sitting on the couch crying. Joan's heart went out to the young child. She walked over and sat down beside her. "It'll be alright." Joan said soothingly, as she placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"What happened, Joan?" Lorelai asked in a much calmer tone that she used with her aunt.

Joan carefully chose her words. "You mother became ill this evening. She needed to go see a doctor at the hospital. So, your father took her."

"Is she okay?" Lorelai asked heartbrokenly.

"I'm sure she is, sweetheart." Joan smiled. "Your father hasn't called yet, but I am sure he will soon. You can talk to him then."

"I don't want her to die, Joan…" Lorelai's voice broke as she buried her head into the maid's apron. "I always said I did, but I don't!"

"Shh …" Joan whispered. "I know." Joan wrapped her arms around the small girl. "It'll be okay, Lorelai. Please, stop crying."

The phone rang. Sabrina quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Sabrina…" Richard replied gravely. His voice was hard and emotionless. "Call the family."

"Richard?" Sabrina asked. "Richard, what is going on. Is everything okay?"

"Call the family." Richard repeated. "Tell them to come to the hospital."

"Ohhh…" Sabrina's voice cracked as she placed her hand to her mouth. "Richard… no…"

"Please, hurry. Time is precious." Richard hung up the phone.

Sabrina let several tears stream down her face. Finally she pulled herself back together. She picked up the phone and began dialing numbers.

"Hello, Mr. Hanson…" Sabrina began. "This is Richard's sister, Sabrina. I'm so sorry…"


	7. Golden Slumbers

"Are you sure about this, Richard?" Sabrina asked.

"I'm sure, Sabrina. Lorelai needs to see her mother."

Lorelai came out from behind Sabrina and took her father's hand. "It'll be okay sweetheart." Richard assured. "I'll be right there with you."

Richard led the girl back into the hallway. They turned several corners before finally reaching the dark room that Emily was in. Lorelai's heart started to race and she felt sick to her stomach. She peaked her head through the door. Then allowed the rest of her body to enter. Emily was laying there completely still. A breathing machine was over her mouth and Lorelai could here it pumping up and down. The only other audible sound was the beeping of the life support. The room ranked of sickness. It was a smell unlike anything Lorelai had ever inhaled.

"She looks old." Lorelai concluded as she took a closer look at her mother. This seemed very odd to Lorelai considering Emily was only 32. Never had she appeared so sickly looking.

Emily's lips were shut tightly, and she had some type of brown substance leaking from the corners of her mouth. There was a small cloth placed above her head.

"What is that?" Lorelai asked, as she pointed to the cloth.

"A prayer cloth." Richard replied.

"Does it work?"

"The pastor said it has before." Richard's heart was aching.

Lorelai didn't find this answer suitable. She was becoming very aggravated with the situation and didn't want to see her mother like this any longer. "May I leave now?" Lorelai asked as she turned her back to her dying mother.

Richard quickly wiped at his eyes that were about to spill with tears. "Of course." He replied as he guided his daughter out of the room.

Lorelai walked outside into the bright hallway.

"She's not even crying." One of the nurses whispered.

"She probably doesn't understand." Another nurse replied.

" She has to. She looks around 11 or 12 years old."

Richard cast the nurses an evil glance and they quickly returned to their duties. As Richard and Lorelai reached the end of the hall way. Richard came face to face with his daughter.

"Go home with your aunt Sabrina." Richard replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Is she going to be okay?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"We're not sure yet." Richard replied sorrowfully. "It's in God's hands."

"I'll buy her something from the gift shop." Lorelai replied optimistically. "Do you think she would like a balloon?"

"Sweetheart, perhaps you should wait to see if she wakes up before you decide to buy her anything. Even if she does wake up, she may not be the same. She may not even remember us."

"That's okay…" Lorelai answered brightly. "We can fix everything."

"Lorelai…"

"We can show her pictures and videos and tell her stories…"

Richard bowed his head. "Go on home, dear."

Sabrina walked over beside the two and took Lorelai by the hand. "Come along, child." Sabrina replied. She signaled goodbye to Richard and lead her niece out of the doorway.

"You believe she's going to be okay, don't you aunt Sabrina?" Lorelai looked up with eyes filled with hope.

"Please, stop asking questions, Lorelai." Sabrina scolded as she pushed the elevator button.

Lorelai stayed silent the rest of the way home. Once back the Gilmore house, Sabrina retired to the guest bedroom, leaving a frightened and upset Lorelai sitting alone in her bedroom.

(The hospital)

"Mr. Gilmore, I am very truly sorry." The doctor said regretfully.

"There's no chance she'll ever come out of the coma?" Richard asked.

"I'm afraid not. She's gone completely brain dead."

"How could she have been so sick?" Richard asked. "And I never knew?"

"Emily was a strong woman, Mr. Gilmore. To last as long as she has without medication or treatment is a miracle in itself." The doctor cleared his throat. "Once we remove her from life support, she'll pass away within three to five minutes. Usually, that's when people say all of their good byes."

Richard nodded, to signal that he understood.

"I'll have the nurse bring out the papers."

A few moments later, Richard's tear drops had stained the life support papers. Signing his name was like signing away Emily's life. He couldn't help but feel guilty, as if he were giving up on her. After the papers were completed. Richard took his place beside his wife's bed.

"For better or worse, for sickness and in health…" Richard whispered. "I just never thought the worse and sickness would happen so soon."

He took hold of Emily's cold hand. "Emily…" He sobbed. "How am I ever going to make it without you?"


	8. Carry That Weight

Lorelai spotted Richard's car pull into the driveway. " He's back!" she exclaimed. She took off running down the stairs. As Richard walked through the doorway, Lorelai reached the last step. "Daddy!" Lorelai ran and wrapped her arms around her father's waist.

"Hello, sweetheart." Richard greeted.

Sabrina, hearing all the commotion, strolled into the room. "Richard…" She paused. Richard nodded his head yes. Sabrina swallowed heavily, and blinked her eyes several times.

"Lorelai…" Richard began sweetly. "Let's take a walk." Richard guided Lorelai out the back door towards the garden. "Have a seat." He suggested pointing at a bench.

"No." Lorelai refused. "You can sit, but I don't want to."

Richard sighed as he rested himself on the bench in front of his daughter. "I don't know the right way to say this… so I'm just going to say it." Richard paused. "Your mother passed away this morning."

A wave of emotion and shock hit Lorelai. Suddenly, she wished she had of taken her father's advice and sat down. Not capable of feeling her legs, she surely would have hit the ground, had Richard not caught her.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked.

"It doesn't seem real." Lorelai whispered through a mask of tears. "It can't be real."

Richard held Lorelai for several minutes. Neither of them saying a word. Finally, he stood from his seat. "There's a great deal of work to do… it's going to be very hard for the next few days. Promise me that you will not cause any trouble and do as you are told."

"I promise." Lorelai sobbed.

"You'll need a new black dress for the funereal. I know you don't like them…"

"I don't care to wear it." Lorelai interrupted.

"Good. Sabrina will take you this afternoon.

"This afternoon?" Lorelai asked, surprised at how quickly she was expected to just "go shopping".

"Yes, the funereal is tomorrow." Richard replied. "Be a good girl, run along."

Lorelai turned to see Sabrina waiting for her in the doorway.

"But daddy I …"

"You promised, Lorelai." Richard said sternly. "Go on, now."

"Yes, sir." Lorelai slowly walked towards her aunt.

(Hartford Dress Shop)

"What about this one?" Sabrina asked, placing the dress up to Lorelai's body. "This one really brings out your blue eyes."

"It's black. They've all been black." Lorelai said annoyed. "What could possibly be the difference?"

"Well, we want the best one." Sabrina said condescendingly. "After all, your mother would want it that way."

"My mother is dead." Lorelai retorted. "I don't think it matters."

"Lorelai Gilmore, how dare you say such a horrible thing!" Sabrina screeched. "Have you no more respect than that?"

Lorelai didn't answer. She lowered her eyes onto the floor and kept them there.

"We're getting this one." Sabrina reached for most expensive dress on the rack. "This one is perfect."

Later at the Gilmore house. Richard had been on the phone all evening. He had barely taking enough time to look at the dress Sabrina picked out. He had mumbled something along the lines of "I'm sure it's fine." As he gave it a quick glance and then focused back on his phone conversation.

Lorelai had been waiting patiently all evening for her father to stop with the phone calls and spend time with her, but after the clock struck 11:00 and Richard had still not exited his study, Lorelai had given up hope and went to bed.

That night she found it very hard to sleep. She wondered what it would feel like to be dead. She couldn't really picture it. One feeling, however, was stronger than anything and that was Lorelai's guilt. She knew she had to tell Richard what she had done. How she had wished death upon her mother several times. Lorelai not only felt responsible but it was as if she were being punished as well. After hours of tossing and turning Lorelai finally fell asleep.

_Dream Sequence: _

"_Mom?" Lorelai spotted her mother standing across the garden. "Mom, what are you doing?" _

"_I've came back, Lorelai." Emily smiled. _

"_But… you died." _

"_Oh, no." Emily chuckled. "Everyone just thinks that I have. I just decided to go away for a while, but I'm back now." _

"_You're so beautiful." Lorelai began to walk towards her mother. "Mommy, I never meant what I said..." The more Lorelai tried to reach her mother, the farther Emily seemed to be. "Mommy, please don't go…" Lorelai called. Lorelai took off in a spurt to try to catch her mother, but the dream abruptly ended. _

Lorelai jumped from her bed, her breathing rapid and out of control. Her pillow was covered with sweat and her hair drenched. "Daddy!" She yelled in terror. "Daddy!"


	9. It's All Too Much

(Gilmore House After The Funereal)

"It must be so hard on the little one." An older woman said wearily. "Poor child is only eleven years old. She'll never turn out to be a proper young woman with only her father to raise her."

Lorelai sighed. Why was everyone talking about her like she wasn't in the room? She could hear everyone very clearly, and didn't appreciate the opinions that many were openly expressing.

"Ah, Lorelai, there you are." Richard replied as he walked towards his daughter. "Come with me. There are some people in the library who are expecting to see you."

"I don't want to see anymore people." Lorelai replied bitterly.

"Lorelai…" Richard sternly replied.

"Fine." Lorelai mumbled as she walked towards the library.

The door opened and several sets of eyes landed upon her.

"Oh, my goodness is that Lorelai?" A woman asked. "She's hardly a child Richard."

"Indeed. She's grown very much since the last time we saw her." A man replied.

Richard smiled. "She looks like her mother, doesn't she?"

Everyone nodded their head. Lorelai rolled her eyes, she knew very well she did not look like her mother. This was just some way to justify Lorelai's being in the room.

"I'm tired." Lorelai professed. "May I be excused?"

"Don't let us keep you up." The woman answered. "You must be terribly exhausted from all that's been going on these last couple of days."

"Go ahead." Richard nodded.

Lorelai exited the library and slowly climbed the stairs up to her room. She quickly removed the itchy dress which she had been wearing all day. After changing into her most comfortable pjs she slipped into the bed and turned out the lamp. It was only 9:30 and usually Lorelai was up till 11:00 or so, but she couldn't take another moment of the facade going on downstairs.

Here it was, the first night she would ever spend, with her mother dead. It seemed cold. Damp. Dreary. Death was still lingering strongly all around her. Her father barely seemed to take notice in all of the previously stated things. He treated the entire ordeal as a business duty. He seemed more like an employee of the dead, rather than a widow.

Richard had always been Lorelai's best friend. Though Emily was hateful, strict, and boring Richard had always kept Lorelai entertained; however, Lorelai was beginning to feel quite alone. She wondered if her father would be up to kiss her good night, or tell her everything would be okay but Lorelai never saw Richard's face that night.

(The next morning)

"Joan?" Richard called. "Are my eggs ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Gilmore." Joan replied.

"Have you seen my daughter this morning?" Richard asked as he sat down at the dinning room table.

"No, sir."

Richard glanced at his watch. "It's 7:30 and she'll be late for school if she's not down soon."

"School?" Joan asked with surprise.

"Yes, school." Richard repeated as he took a bite of his eggs.

"Sir, with all due respect, do you really think Lorelai should attend school today?"

"Of course." Richard replied. "She shouldn't fall behind in her studies."

"But, sir…" Joan said softly. "I doubt that she would feel up to the occasion."

"Well, she must learn that in this life we all do things that we do not feel up to doing. Nevertheless, we must do them, therefore, my daughter will go to school today."

"I wish you wouldn't make her go." Joan continued. "I honestly believe she needs a couple more days to recoup."

"She will not recover from her mother's death within a couple of days, Joan. It shall take years, if then, that she ever copes with this loss. There is no point in wasting time that cannot be saved."

"Yes, sir." Joan sighed. "I'll make sure she is at school today."

"Thank you." Richard replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to enjoy my breakfast in peace."

Joan nodded and walked out of the dinning room. She ascended the stairs up to Lorelai's room. Lorelai's door was shut tightly. Joan knocked and awaited an answer.

"Come in." a small voice replied.

"Lorelai…" Joan spoke a she opened the door and stepped into the room. "You're going to be late for school."

"I'm not going to school today." Lorelai turned over in her bed.

"Your father says you must." The attractive young woman came closer to the girl. "I know you would rather stay home, but your father thinks it is best if you go."

"What does he know?" Lorelai asked, her voice being muffled by the pillows. "He didn't even know my mother was sick."

"Oh, Lorelai, please don't blame your father for the death of your mother." Joan sat down on Lorelai's bed. "He loved her very much."

"I loved her too." Lorelai replied. "But I never got to tell her… or show her… and I never will."

"She knew." Joan smiled. "She knew how much you loved her. And she loved very much as well."

Lorelai raised from the bed. "Do you think she is in Heaven?"

"I know she is." Joan said softly as she took Lorelai's hand. "My mother passed away when I was sixteen. Trust me, it doesn't get any easier to deal with just because you're older. But I know without a doubt that everyday she is watching me… guiding me along, as I live my life, protecting me. I know Mrs. Gilmore is going to do the same. A mother's love can never die."

"If she's in Heaven, then she's happier than here on earth."

"Oh, yes. Everyone is so happy in Heaven. There are no sorrows, or pain. I bet she's having the best ever time right now." Joan smiled. "If anything, we should be jealous."

"That's good. I don't think she was very happy here and she never had a good time." Lorelai stepped out of the bed. "Well, I'd better get ready for school."


	10. I Got A Woman

"I don't want you to see her!" Lorelai shrieked.

"Lorelai…." Richard replied.

"I don't want you to marry her!"

Richard laughed lightly. "I am not going to marry her. I am not even going to think about marrying her. It's all in good fun, I assure you."

"No!" Lorelai repeated again.

"Now, see here…." Richard began. "I know you miss your mother. I miss her as well and no one could ever take her place. I'm not trying to replace your mother, Lorelai, I'm just trying to move on with my life. Cecelia is a very nice woman she even has a son about your age and I'm sure if you would just give her a chance…"

"NO!" Lorelai forcefully declared.

"I'm going to see her, Lorelai." Richard sternly remarked. "You're just going to have to get over that."

Richard stormed out of Lorelai's room. Lorelai picked up one of her dolls and whizzed it at the door. How could he do this? Her mother had barely been deceased a year and here he was trying to bring another woman into their house. Lorelai was furious. She would not accept another woman, no matter what. And another child? What on earth was her father thinking getting involved with a woman who had a child. Ridiculous, that'd what this entire situation was.

Joan, who had heard most of the argument gently made her way into Lorelai's room. "Sweetie, please try to understand…"

"Don't tell me you're taking his side?" Lorelai asked as her anger began to give away into tears.

"I'm not taking anyone's side." Joan clarified. "I'm just trying to help you understand why these things are happening."

"Why?" Lorelai asked broken heartedly. "Why _are _these things happening? Why did my mother have to die? Why was I so stupid that I said the things that I did and never got a chance to make it right? Why is my father wanting to see another woman? Why do I have to go through this?"

The young girl collapsed onto her bed and began to sob. Joan sat down beside her and patted her back softly. "This, sweetheart, is life." Joan calmly replied. "It's not fair that you are getting such a heavy dose so soon, but this is it."

"Well, if this is life then I'm not sure I want to keep living."

Joan cupped her hands around Lorelai's face. "Don't ever say anything like that, Lorelai. Life is the most precious gift you'll ever receive. Besides, if you were gone, I don't know what on earth I would do." Joan smiled.

Lorelai let a small smile cross her face as well. "How come you never had any children?" Lorelai asked. It was a question she had been wondering for a while.

"Well, I would need a husband first." Joan replied. "And I don't have much time for dating…"

"Because of your job?" Lorelai asked drying away at the last of her tears.

"Oh, for a lot of reasons. Most guys are looking for a different type of woman than myself."

"But you're beautiful." Lorelai replied honestly.

Joan blushed. "Thank you… But I'm afraid there's just more to it than that. You'll understand some day."

"Are you lonely?"

"Not at all." Joan replied as she stood from Lorelai's bed. "I've got everything I could ever want, right here. But your father, he is afraid of being lonely…" Joan continued. "You must see things through his eyes, as difficult as it may be."

"How come everything he wants can't be right here?" Lorelai cleverly asked. "Why isn't this enough?"

"I can't answer that." Joan said as she walked towards the door. "But, if you give everything a chance, I'm sure it'll all work out."

(Friday Night)

Richard had been a mess all evening. Lorelai found it pathetic how he was acting, just because _she _was coming over. Cecelia, even the name sounded dumb. Lorelai sighed as she sat quietly in the dinning room as Richard had instructed. At exactly 7:00 the doorbell rang. Joan glided through the rooms towards the front door.

"Good evening." Joan greeted as she opened the door. "You must be Cecelia."

"I am." The woman replied snobbishly. "And this is my son, Karl."

"Well, hello, Karl." Joan smiled. "Please, come in, Mr. Gilmore is expecting you."

Cecelia walked through the doorway and handed Joan her coat and purse. "Karl, remove your jacket." Karl did as he was instructed and handed his jacket to Joan as well.

"Mr. Gilmore is in the dinning room." Joan replied. "It's straight ahead. I'll put your belongings in the hallway closet."

Cecelia and Karl made their way through the house.

"Ah, Cecelia!" Richard smiled. "You look amazing."

"Thank you, Richard." Cecelia replied as she allowed the man to kiss her hand.

"Hello, Karl." Richard focused his attention to the boy. "You're looking well this evening."

"Thank you, Mr. Gilmore." Karl remarked. "Yourself as well."

Lorelai's mouth nearly hit the floor. Was she hearing things? Did those words come out of his twelve year old mouth? Suddenly, Lorelai realized this was going to be much worse than she had first anticipated.

"Lorelai, come here." Richard called, as if she was some sort of family pet. "This is Cecelia and Karl." Richard's face gleamed with what Lorelai assumed to be fake pride. "And this is my daughter, Lorelai."

"Hello, Lorelai." Cecelia replied. "What a lovely ribbon in your hair."

Karl bowed his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lorelai snickered at Karl's reaction. Karl cast her an unfamiliar look, and clearly did not understand what he had done to deserve a snicker.

"Well, Joan, our maid, has prepared a lovely dinner. Shall we eat?" Richard invited.

Everyone took a seat at the table. Karl and Lorelai sat across from each other, Richard took his usual seat, and Cecelia took the chair that Emily had always sat in. Lorelai's entire body cringed at the thought of another woman in Emily's place.

"Richard, darling, your house is beautiful." Cecelia replied as she took a tiny sip of her wine. "Absolutely breathtaking to be honest."

"Thank you." Richard answered as a smile crept across his face.

Darling? Where did this woman get off calling Richard darling? Lorelai began to glare. She knew she had better watch her step, especially since this was going to be a first impression, but my goodness this woman was a sight.

"I've been considering remodeling the sitting room for quite some while." Richard continued. "It's been that way for years. Time for a change."

"I like the sitting room." Lorelai added in a monotone voice.

"Oh, she speaks." Cecelia remarked with a mild sense of humor. Lorelai however, did not find it funny.

"Lorelai, that room needs redecorated." Richard persisted. "I've grown very tired of it."

"You know, I have a knack for decorating." Cecelia smiled.

"I'm sure you do." Richard replied, his face turning red.

"I'd be more than glad to offer my assistance. Karl likes hard work himself, don't you Karl?"

"Yes, ma'am. Hard work makes a man honest."

Lorelai quickly covered her mouth to keep from bursting out into laughter. Richard's approval skyrocketed.

"That's a smart boy, you have there."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "May I be excused?"

"Lorelai, we are having dinner."

"I know that." Lorelai stated. "May I be excused?"

"May I ask what for?"

Lorelai thought for a moment. "I need to go to the restroom."

Richard nodded his head. "Then yes, you may be excused. Make haste." Richard added.

Lorelai bolted from the table and went straight into the kitchen. "Oh my God, Joan…" Lorelai groaned. "Please, please, help me."

Joan, who was sitting at the counter eating some leftovers from the night before gazed up at the young girl. "Help you with what?"

"That woman is a disgrace to the female population. And her son, I'm pretty sure he belongs in a special hospital."

"Lorelai." Joan replied sternly. "You shouldn't say things like that about people."

"But it's true." Lorelai defended. "Please, do something. I can't go back out there."

Joan smiled. She knew it was true, in fact she couldn't agree with Lorelai more. "Alright… I'll help you this one time."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Lorelai generously replied. "I'll do anything you want in return. Anything."

"Well, we'll discuss that part later. You run along upstairs and I'll tell your father that you've went to bed with a stomach ache."

"Gotcha." Lorelai said as she dashed out of the kitchen.

Joan prepared herself, and walked into the dinning room. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but Lorelai is complaining with a stomach ache. I've given her some medicine and sent her to her room."

Richard set down his fork. "She seemed fine five minutes ago."

"It hit her kind of suddenly." Joan added.

Richard did not buy this story. "Joan, tell Lorelai she has two minutes to bring herself back to her chair."

"Mr. Gilmore, honestly, your daughter is not well."

"Richard, it's not a big deal." Cecelia replied. "Karl and I can leave…"

"No." Richard abruptly countered. "No one is leaving."

"Well, it's obvious we are not welcome." Cecelia said as she stood from her chair.

Joan regretted ever agreeing to this. "Mr. Gilmore… I am terribly sorry, I'll see if Lorelai will return to dinner but…"

"Let her be." Richard interrupted.

"Yes, sir." Joan took this as her opportunity to leave the very thick aired room.

"I'm so sorry." Richard said gazing in the direction of Cecelia. "I assure you nothing like this shall ever happen again."


	11. I Want To Tell You

"Well, it's been a lovely evening in my opinion." Richard said as he slipped Ceclia's coat over her shoulders. "I do hope we can do this again soon. Lorelai… she's quite the misdemeanor sometimes, but she'll warm up to this idea eventually."

"Oh, Richard I'm sure it's nothing a little discipline can't cure." Cecelia added. "Karl's had plenty of that in his life, and look how wonderful he has turned out."

"Well, I'm not quite finished yet mother." Karl smiled. "I have much more learning to do."

"You keep that optimistic attitude, lad, and you'll succeed at anything you try. I assure you." Richard patted the boy on the shoulder.

"I suggest you come down harder on Lorelai from now on. Let her know you're the one in control. If you do not take her in hadn soon, Richard, she'll become more misbehaved with every day."

"I'll take care of it." Richard smiled. "See you soon."

"Yes…" Cecelia smiled. "You will. Come along, Karl."

"Good bye, sir." Karl extended his hand to Richard. "Thank you for having us for diner this evening."

"You're welcome." Richard replied as he closed the door behind them.

Joan had been quietly waiting in the kitchen. She slipped through the doorway as the company was leaving. Richard turned and caught her stare.

"Mr. Gilmore… I am so sorry. Please, don't take this out on Lorelai."

"There is no excuse for my daughter's actions."

"Sir, please…"

"Joan… this doesn't concern you." Richard replied.

Joan suddenly looked down to the floor. "Just don't yell at her." Joan barely said above a whisper. "She's still so fragile in so many ways."

Richard didn't reply, he headed up the stairs towards Lorelai's room. "Lorelai!"

Lorelai bolted up from her bed. "Dad…"

"Lorelai, you are grounded for two weeks." Richard huffed. "And if you ever pull a trick like this again, I'll make it a month. No tv… no reading… you are to be in bed every night by 8:00 and absolutely no playing with Anna."

"What?" Lorelai asked as she turned on her lamp. "I didn't pull a trick!"

"You are not ill… you are faking. The way you treated our guests tonight is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

"I am not faking." Lorelai said coolly. "Those two really do make me sick to my stomach."

Richard's anger rose. "Hush! I am the parent and what I say goes."

"Why do you want to redecorate the sitting room?" Lorelai asked as tears began to stream down her face. "Mom decorated that… you know she did."

"It's none of your business what I do." Richard replied. "Two weeks." He repeated. "I mean it." With that, he turned and exited Lorelai's room.

(The next morning)

Lorelai slowly came down the stairs, she was infuriated with what had transpired over the last several hours. She was about to step into the kitchen, but caught wind of Richard and Joan's conversation.

"Joan, that is impossible. Clear it from your head immediately." Richard spat.

"Mr. Gilmore, I know that I made the promise all those years ago, but…"

"But nothing…" Richard interrupted. "Nothing is to be said… nothing is to be done."

"Yes, sir." Joan slowly turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Lorelai wasn't sure what they were talking about, but she knew it must have been something important or Joan would never have brought it up. Lorelai stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Lorelai." Richard replied.

Lorelai didn't answer. As far as she was concerned she was giving her father the silent treatment for a as long as she could.

"Not speaking are we?" Richard asked. "That's fine. Children should be seen not heard anyway." He poured himself a cup of coffee. "Well, I'm off to work."

Lorelai watched as her father grabbed his briefcase and marched out of the kitchen. She was beginning to feel a strange feeling towards Richard. It was sort of like the feelings she had towards Emily before she died. They were cold and bitter. It was funny, while Emily was alive Richard had been Lorelai's hero, and now in death, Emily had became the immortal parent. Lorelai didn't understand any of this. It only gave her a headache to even try to come up with an explanation of why things were they way they were. How things got so out of hand and so far off track. Lorelai knew one thing was for sure, however, if Cecelia became a part of Richard's life, it would only get worse for Lorelai.

Lorelai heard something break in the sitting room and she quickly rushed to see what had happened. When she entered the room, she saw Joan on her hands and knees picking up the glass.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked as she stepped over beside Joan.

"I knocked off your mother's picture." Joan sadly replied. "I didn't see it sitting there on the end of the table… I was walking by with the laundry basket and I knocked it off. I'm so sorry, Lorelai."

"It doesn't matter." Lorelai said as she bent down and picked up the broken picture frame. "My father is going to redecorate the sitting room anyway."

"But your mother…" Joan began.

"He doesn't care." Lorelai quickly added. "Why should I?"

"_Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore just sign these papers and everything shall be taken care of." The man replied with a smile. _

"_You're sure that this baby is healthy?" Emily asked. _

"_I'm more than sure." The man answered. "She's as healthy as a newborn baby can be." _

"_See, Emily, I told you there was nothing to be concerned about." Richard smiled. _

"_I suppose not." Emily signed her name to the paper. "When will she be able to come home with us?"_

"_Soon, Mrs. Gilmore. Soon." _


	12. That'll Be The Day

When the doorbell rang, Richard beat Joan to answering it, which was very odd considering Richard nearly never opened the door for company.

"Cecelia!" Richard greeted with open arms.

"Richard, darling." Cecelia replied. "I've brought a couple of my workers…"

"Oh, good… good." Richard smiled. "Uh, Joan!" Richard called. "Show these fine men to the sitting room please."

Joan sighed and came into the foyer. "This way." She said softly. She hated this idea of redecorating the sitting room. In fact she had hated everything that had been going on for the past month.

Lorelai came to the top of the stairs and watched as the men strolled into the sitting room. She glanced over at Joan who appeared very upset with this ordeal. Lorelai shrugged. Trying to preserve Emily's life and possessions was proving futile. There was no point in letting this upset her. She walked on down the stairway.

"I'm going out to play with Anna." Lorelai stated. "I'll be back before lunch."

"Take all the time you want." Joan replied.

Richard spotted Lorelai exiting out of the kitchen door. "Lorelai!" he called. "Cecelia is here."

"Okay." Lorelai returned.

"Come say hello." Richard continued.

"I can say it from in here." Lorelai's voice echoed. "Hello!" and with that the kitchen door shut.

"I see the discipline issue is still going unresolved." Cecelia noted.

Richard didn't reply. "Well, let's get started on this room, shall we?"

Hours went by. The sitting room became filled with plastic, pant, and tools. The workers were constantly being instructed to do this and that while Richard and Cecelia "supervised." Lorelai had given up playing with Anna quite a while ago, but had been in the kitchen with Joan helping her with chores and preparing dinner.

Joan laughed. "Would you seriously do something like that?"

"Of course I would." Lorelai boldly replied.

"You would not." Joan teased.

"I would so!" Lorelai repeated. "Dare me to do it, you'll see."

"Oh, I'm not going to dare you."

"Why?" Lorelai smirked. "Because you know I'll do it?"

"No, because I know you Lorelai Gilmore you would chew glass before you backed out on a dare."

"You know it." Lorelai said proudly. "Come on, dare me."

"I believe you just want to slip a bug into her soup it and you're looking for an excuse to do so."

"Maybe I am."

"Well, you'll just have to find your excuse somewhere else. I'm certainly not getting involved with that woman again after what happened last month."

"Oh, what do we care if Cecelia gets mad?" Lorelai asked.

"I suggest you stay on your best behavior tonight." Joan added. "And that includes no bugs in the soup."

"Fine." Lorelai sighed. "But I'm going to be hoping all night long that a bug finds its way into her soup all on its own."

Joan smiled. "That would be quite a sight."

As laughter broke out again, Richard opened the kitchen door. "Joan, its nearly 7:00."

"Dinner will be ready in a just a couple more minutes." Joan replied.

"Lorelai, leave the maid be and come sit at the table."

Lorelai's smile quickly faded. Why did Richard called Joan the maid? He used such a condescending voice that it even hurt Lorelai's feelings. Joan had been with the Gilmores ever since Lorelai could remember. She wasn't the maid… she was a part of the family.

"Come along, Lorelai. I don't speak to hear my head rattle." Richard groaned.

This attitude, these words and phrases, They reminded Lorelai so much of the mother she despised. Richard had turned into Emily. Mean. Hateful. Boring. Lorelai scooted off the bar stool and walked into the dinning room.

"Dinner will be out shortly." Richard replied as he took his seat at the table.

"Well, Lorelai there you are." Cecelia noted. "I was beginning to wonder where you had disappeared to."

Lorelai wish she could disappear. "I was in the kitchen."

"Helping the maid?"

"Her name is Joan." Lorelai scoffed.

"But she's still the maid." Cecelia added.

"She's more than that… she's family." Lorelai was becoming upset.

Richard cleared his throat. "Lorelai, that's enough."

Joan gracefully walked out with plates of food. She set down Cecelia's plate first.

"Oh, dear me." Cecelia replied. "I cannot possibly eat this. Richard why didn't you tell me we were having roast beef?"

"I'm sorry dear, what seems to be the problem?" Richard asked.

Lorelai shuttered. She hated it when they used words like, darling, dear, sweetheart… they all made Lorelai sick.

"I absolutely cannot eat roast beef. Doctors orders."

"It's not a problem." Richard said as he held his hand. "Joan… fix something else for Cecelia. What would cease your appetite my dear?" Richard asked.

"Lamb would be more than delicious."

"I'm sorry…" Joan began. "We are fresh out of lamb."

"Oh, well, do you have any lobster?"

"Afraid not." Joan replied.

"Well, what _do_ you have?" Cecelia asked, her voice hardening.

"Roast beef." Lorelai answered with perfect time.

Joan desperately tried to retain herself from smiling.

"Lorelai." Richard scoffed. "Hush."

"I'll just have the soup." Cecelia finally complied. "And a salad."

"Right away ma'am." Joan said as she hurried out of the dinning room.

After dinner was over, Cecelia wasted no time in leaving. She claimed she must hurry home to Karl, but Lorelai knew better. In a sense, Lorelai was pleased with herself. She had only managed to say just a few words, yet they were enough to make Cecelia angry enough to go home earlier than planned.

After Richard had said his goodbyes to Cecelia he came in search of Lorelai.

"What did I tell you young lady?" He asked as he folded his arms. "You are now grounded for a month."

"For what?" Lorelai asked. Although she already knew the answer.

"For your behavior this evening. Lorelai, if you do not stop this intolerable behavior you'll force me to reside to a heavy punishment far worse than grounding. You will learn to respect Cecelia."

Lorelai sighed. She knew there was no point in trying to argue her way out of this. "I'm never going to respect her." Lorelai replied. "You can ground me for life… or punish me with the most intense punishment you can think of, but you can't make me respect her."

Richard's breathing became heavy and off beat. "You will obey me. You will do as you are told. I was going to wait till another time to tell you this, but I think you should get one thing clear, right now. Cecelia is going to be around for a very long time. You might as well get used to it. She and I are planning to be married soon and _she will be_ your step-mother."

Lorelai's heart thumped so hard it felt as if it would break her chest. "What!" She yelled. "You said you'd never get married!"

"I said no such thing." Richard corrected. "I said I was not thinking about getting married."

"You can't marry her!" Lorelai screeched. "I'll run away! I'll leave and I'll never come back!"

Richard snarled. "You will respect her. You will obey her just as you obey me. We are all going to be a family."

"I don't want them here!"

"Well, I do!" Richard yelled. "Stop being so selfish and think of someone else for a change. Emily is dead, Lorelai… she is gone… she is never coming back. I have to go on with my life. This is what is best for me… and this is what is best for you!" Richard's face had become beat red. Never had Lorelai heard so much anger and pain in her father's voice.


	13. Ask Me Why

"_How can you be so calm?" Emily asked frantically. _

"_Emily, darling, there is no point in becoming upset. This is a joyful occasion and I do not wish to ruin it with anxiety." _

"_They should have been here twenty minutes ago. Something's went wrong…" Emily began to pace the room. "The birthmother… what if she decided she didn't want to go through with the adoption? Or what if something worse happened?" _

_Richard stood from his chair. "Emily… you're getting yourself worked up over nothing. Collier said everything was 100 ready and correct." _

"_Then why aren't they here?" Emily asked. Suddenly the doorbell rang and relief flooded Emily's body. "Oh, thank God." Emily praised as she rushed to the door. _

"_Hello, Mrs. Gilmore. Sorry we're a little late." Collier smiled as he stood holding the baby in his arms. "This little lady here just can't wait to meet you folks."_

_Emily's eyes began to tear up as she reached for the baby. "Oh, Richard…" She said breathlessly as she held the baby in her arms. "Look at her… she's so beautiful." Richard peeked over Emily's shoulder at the infant. _

"_Do you have a name picked out?" Collier asked. _

_Richard smiled down at the tiny child. "We're going to name her after my mother." Richard replied. "Lorelai." _

"_And after mine." Emily added. "Victoria." _

"_Lorelai Victoria Gilmore." Collier spoke. "That's a lovely name. Well, the birth certificate will be in the mail soon." Collier took one final look at the young couple with the baby. "You three have a great day. Call me if you ever need anything."_

"Lorelai..." Joan's voice called softly through the dimly lighted room. "What's all this?"

"Joan, I have to." Lorelai replied as she closed her suitcase and turned around. "I told dad I would runaway if he brought Cecelia and Karl here and well… he is … so…" Lorelai's voice started to break off.

Joan walked over and took the suitcase from Lorelai's hand. She sat down on the bed and patted the bed signifying for Lorelai to sit as well.

"Have you planned out anything?" Joan asked. "Where will you go? How will you eat, sleep, and live? Do you have money? Shelter? Transportation?"

"I'll go wherever the wind takes me." Lorelai replied. "I'll volunteer to do dishes at restaurants for leftovers. I'll sleep wherever there is peacefulness. I'll find odd jobs to make money. I don't need shelter unless it rains, and if it does then I'll find a porch somewhere. And as far as transportation goes, I have my feet, that's good enough."

Joan giggled. Lorelai clearly had been watching too many movies. "My goodness, you do have this planned out. I should've known you would."

"Don't tell dad I'm gone. I figure it will take him at least till 9 or 10 tomorrow morning to realize I'm missing. I need those hours." Lorelai said seriously.

Joan sighed. "Alright."

"I'm sorry Joan. I'll write and phone every chance I get."

"I know you will." Joan smiled.

Lorelai was wondering why Joan was so easily going along with this. Lorelai honestly expected her to object to her running away scheme.

"I wish you could come with me." Lorelai said brightly.

"Oh, I can't do that. My place is here. I have no reason to runaway."

"Well, I do." Lorelai assertively replied. "If I don't then my life will be ruined."

"You're wasting valuable traveling time." Joan stated as she stood from the bed. "You'd better get going."

Lorelai looked out her window, which she had previously planned to escape from. "It looks a little chilly out there. I'd better get a jacket."

"I'll get it. You go ahead and sneak down to the ground. I'll toss you your jacket." Joan quickly hurried over to the closet. She turned around to see Lorelai standing in the same position. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Joan asked holding the jacket.

Lorelai paused. "I … I don't know." Lorelai finally said. "I had every intention of leaving a few minutes ago. But it's harder with you here in the room."

"I suppose it is." Joan replied. "I'll be on my way then." Joan laid the jacket on the bed beside Lorelai. "Good bye, Lorelai." Joan began to walk out of Lorelai's bedroom.

"Joan…" Lorelai called as she began to walk towards her. Joan turned and Lorelai's arms fell perfectly around her waist. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, sweetheart."

Lorelai ended the embrace and picked up her suitcase. She turned her back and waited for Joan to leave the room. About half an hour later, Joan pulled the covers up over a sleeping Lorelai who obviously lost all of her courage to runaway. Joan unpacked the suitcase and hung the jacket back in the closet.

"Such a strong headed girl." Joan replied as she switched off the lamp and left the room.

The next morning, Lorelai awoke and found that she was still in her bed and that her suitcase had neatly been unpacked and placed back under her bed. She sighed, remembering the events from the night before and then rose from her pillows. As she made her way down the stairs, she once again caught wind of a conversation between Joan and Richard.

"She was merely blowing off steam." Richard replied. "Every child threatens to runaway at least once."

"I know that." Joan replied. "I never thought she would actually go through with it, but it's just the fact her feelings are hurt so badly. The fact she would think of running away…"

Richard let out a deep breath. "You're taking too much concern in Lorelai." He said with a cold voice.

Joan took a seat at the table beside Richard. "I know." She said softly. "I keep telling myself to stop… but part of me can't help but think that if she just knew the truth that perhaps it would ease so much of her pain."

"That's a silly thought, Joan." Richard countered. "It would only cause more pain and more confusion."

"Excuse me if I sound too forward, Mr. Gilmore, but you're getting married."

"Yes. I am."

"You're going to bring not only another woman but another child into Lorelai's life… and you don't think that is going to cause more pain and more confusion?"

Richard was beginning to become upset. "Now, see here… I make the rules in this house."

Joan stood from the table quickly. "I know." She interrupted before Richard could continue on with his speech. "But Lorelai is a smart girl. One day she'll start to figure things out. Ask yourself how you want her to discover the truth."

Lorelai's eyes were big as quarters. "What truth were they talking about?" Lorelai wished they would use more details in these conversations they kept having.

The doorbell rang and Lorelai knew without wonder that it must be Cecelia. Lorelai hid herself so that Joan couldn't see her when she walked into the foyer to open the door.

"Hello Mrs. Harbor." Joan replied.

Cecelia stepped into the foyer. "Ugh, I can't wait till I get my key for this door. I feel like such a blue collar when I ring the doorbell." Karl stepped in behind her.

Lorelai's mind raced back to the previous night. Now she was wondering why she hadn't followed through with running away.

Richard came prancing into the foyer. "There's my two favorite people." Richard smiled.

Lorelai's heart felt as if someone had stabbed it with a knife when she heard these words come from her father's mouth.

"Richard…" Cecelia smiled. "Karl has done nothing but talk about this golf trip all morning."

"Well that's good to know." Richard replied. "I'm glad that he is looking forward to it."

"Oh, more than you know Richard." Karl retorted. "I've often wanted to learn the game of golf but never had a father or a mentor to teach me."

"You're going to learn from the best now." Cecelia added.

Richard blushed. "Well, I don't know if I would say the best."

"One of them, I am sure." Karl countered.

"Where is Lorelai?" Cecelia asked.

"I assume she is still in her room." Richard answered. "She won't be joining us today. She is grounded."

"Oh?" Cecelia replied with not only satisfaction but happiness. "Well, it's a shame she has to miss our outing."

"Well, she should learn to behave more like a young lady. Come along, we're missing valuable golfing time."

Never had Lorelai been so thankful to be grounded. A day at home away from Richard, Cecelia and Karl would be like heaven. As soon as she was certain they had all left, Lorelai went in search of Joan. A couple of minutes later, she found her sitting in her room looking at pictures.

"Joan… may I come in?" Lorelai asked as she stood in the doorway.

Joan looked up. She put away the pictures. "Of course."

"I need to ask you something." Lorelai said as she swallowed heavily. "I know that it's wrong to listen in on other people's conversations… but I heard you and dad talking the other morning and this morning and… I just want to know… what's the truth about me?"

Joan quickly searched her brain for an answer. "Lorelai… it's very wrong to eavesdrop; you should never do it. If you have questions, you should ask your father, not me."

"But he wont tell me." Lorelai replied. "I've heard how he talks to you… he doesn't want me to know. Please, tell me Joan… Please."

Joan stood from her bed and left her room without answering Lorelai.

Lorelai opened the drawer beside Joan's bed and pulled out the pictures she had been looking at when Lorelai walked in. Why did Joan have baby pictures in her nightstand drawer?


	14. We Can Work It Out

"I don't want her here anymore Richard." Cecelia scoffed. "The woman is trouble."

"Cecelia, sweetheart, I don't understand what Joan has done to offend you so severely."

Cecelia glared at Richard. "Then you must be blind. From the first time I ever walked through the front door Joan has disrespected me. She's the reason Lorelai is the way she is, you know. The reason Lorelai back talks and treats _me_ so badly."

"But…"

"I am your wife now, Richard." Cecelia continued. "This is now my home as well. Joan has not just been your maid, she has been a nanny to Lorelai… well Lorelai is nearly thirteen years old, well above the age for a _nanny._ I am here now, I can guide the young girl along… and hopefully straighten her out before it's too late."

"Cecelia…"

"Do you know that she called Karl a pansy?" Cecelia interjected. "Where on this earth did she hear such a word? Karl has never been associated with that type of language."

"Well, I don't know where Lorelai would hear such a word…"

"I know exactly where…" Cecelia narrowed her eyes.

Richard collapsed onto the bed. "I can't fire, Joan." He replied.

"For God's sake why not!" Cecelia burst out in frustration.

"Years ago, I made a promise." Richard began.

_Emily continued to pace the floors. No one in the Gilmore House had gotten any sleep for days. Richard came stumbling into the sitting room. _

"_Emily, it's 2:00 am." He said as he rubbed his eyes. _

_An exhausted Emily turned her head. "I know. I can't get her to stop crying." _

"_Have you tried feeding her?" Richard asked. _

"_I've tried feeding her, burping her, changing her, rocking her…" Emily let out a small sniffle. "Nothing is working." _

"_There, there." Richard soothed as he came closer to his wife and child. "She's probably just having trouble adjusting to her new surroundings." _

"_Richard, it's been four days… **four **days and she's barely eaten anything at all. She hasn't stopped crying for more than ten minutes since Collier left." Emily's voice was filled with frustration and grief. "I must be a horrible mother." _

"_That's not true." Richard quickly corrected. "It's just going to take some time is all." _

"_I don't know…" Emily's voice began to crack. "I don't know if I am cut out to be a mother. God must have made me infertile for a reason." _

"_Emily, now you hush." Richard scolded. "This baby is ours… she is supposed to be ours." _

_Richard took the crying child from Emily's arms. "You go upstairs and rest. I'll sit up with Lorelai for a while." _

"_I can't rest." Emily replied. _

_The next morning, the doorbell rang. Richard, who was fast asleep on the couch, slowly made his way to the door. He opened the door to reveal a young girl. _

"_May I help you?" Richard asked as he tried to focus his eyesight with the blinding light of outside. _

"_Are you Mr. Gilmore?" _

"_I am." Richard replied. _

"_My name is Joan Addison." _

"_May I help you?" Richard asked. _

"_Sir, may I please come in. I have a lot to explain." _

_Richard could tell the young girl was sincere. He opened the door and allowed her in. _

"_My wife is upstairs. I'll fetch her." Richard replied. _

_Emily and Richard came back down the stairs to find the young girl holding Lorelai in her arms. _

_Emily stared in amazement. "How did you do that?" _

"_Do what?" the girl asked. _

"_Satisfy her?" Emily clarified. "Richard, do you see this… she's stopped Lorelai's crying." _

"_Lorelai?" Joan asked. "That's such a pretty name." Joan smiled down at the infant._

"_Please, have a seat." Emily replied as she continued to bask in bewilderment at how calm the child had became. _

"_My name is Joan, Mrs. Gilmore. I'm from East Hartford. I'm Lorelai's birthmother." _

_The room was very silent. Joan sat patiently awaiting a reply. _

"_That would explain why you can sooth her crying." Emily replied. _

_Joan smiled. "I know that she is legally yours. I would never try to take her away from you." _

"_Why are you here?" Richard asked, not convinced she was as innocent as she projected. _

"_I just wanted to see her. My parents took her away from me in the hospital. They placed her in an adoption agency right after, and refused to tell me where they had taken her. By the time I finally found where they had taken her, you two had already signed the adoption papers." _

"_We have been planning for this baby for months." Emily replied. _

"_With Collier?" Joan asked. "My father's business partner." _

"_How old are you child?" Richard inquired. _

"_I just turned sixteen." Joan answered. _

"_Your parents have no idea you're here." Emily stated. _

"_No ma'am." _

"_What is it that you want?" _

"_I am not ashamed of my baby." Joan clarified. "I would have never given her up for adoption. But just by looking at this house, I know you can give her much more than I ever could. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, if not insane… but…" Joan paused, her courage was quickly fading. "I was hoping, if you didn't mind… I could continue to see her." _

"_We don't wish for Lorelai to know she's adopted." Emily quickly spat. _

"_I understand… I guess this is where the ridiculous part comes in… I could be a maid or a nanny… or a cook… or anything… I'd never tell Lorelai the truth. I'd never try to hurt her or take her away… I just want to be with her. Watch her grow… be here to look over her." _

_Richard's mouth stiffened. "I'm sorry, but…."  
_

"_Richard, wait…" Emily interjected. "Perhaps that would be a good idea." _

"_You can't be serious?" Richard asked. _

"_I am." Emily replied. "As long as she doesn't harm Lorelai or tell her she's adopted." _

"_But Emily…" _

"_Richard, I am tired of not getting any sleep at night. Lorelai isn't a happy baby… and if we continue on like this, she may not continue to be healthy." _

"_Please, Mr. Gilmore." Joan pleaded. "You wouldn't even have to pay me. Just a room to stay in. I'll do all the housework and yard work and cooking… I'll never complain." _

"_You're a child." Richard replied. "You're not even of age to legally work without your parents' permission. What's going to happen when the police come looking for you and they find you here in my house?" _

"_My parents are not going to send the police for me, Mr. Gilmore." Joan assured. "The kicked me out a few days ago." _

"_They kicked you out?" Emily asked. _

"_I refused to marry the man who is Lorelai's real father. My parents are very strict religious church goers. To them, I have committed two of the most unforgivable sins. I know I am asking so much of you… and I wouldn't blame you for turning me down, but I beg you, give me a chance." _

_Richard sighed heavily. "Well, you do seem to have an immense control over Lorelai. That's the most peaceful she has been in the last four days. Alright, you can stay as long as you keep your promises and keep yourself quite about the adoption." _

Cecelia couldn't believe her ears. "She's not your real daughter?"

"No…" Richard hung his head. "Not by blood. You would think something as preposterous as this would not work so well for thirteen years, but it has ran so smoothly up until now."

"She has honestly kept her promises all these years and never told or even hinted to Lorelai about the truth?"

"Never." Richard replied. "Lately, since Emily passed away, she's felt obligated to tell Lorelai the truth. She thinks it would ease Lorelai's pain."

"Well, that just sounds like one more reason why we should make her leave. Obviously, Lorelai's emotions are in grave danger."

"No. As long as she keeps her promises, she will stay here." Richard assertively replied. "That is our deal, and I never back out on a deal."


	15. Let It Be

Lorelai had long since given up hope of ever finding out the "truth" that Richard and Joan had been talking about. She knew Richard would never tell, and she didn't like to upset Joan and obviously this was something that upset Joan. Life with Cecelia and Karl was getting worse than Lorelai had previously imagined. Karl, being the pansy that Lorelai so rightfully labeled him, was constantly running to Richard and telling on Lorelai for this and that.

"Lorelai said a curse word."

"Lorelai smacked me in the back of the head!"

"Lorelai, Lorelai, Lorelai…"

Cecelia always came to her darling son's rescue. It was never a joint effort when Karl and Lorelai had a problem, it was _always _Lorelai's fault. Grounded had lost all meaning to Lorelai. It didn't seem to matter any longer, her life was miserable anyway. She sat back and watched as Richard and Cecelia would go to their fancy dinner parties, their "oh so lovely" trips to the country club, their Sunday afternoon picnics in the park. And Karl would always tag along with them, pursuing his brown nosing.

"Lorelai!" Cecelia screeched. "Come here, now!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes when she heard the cry of the pompous middle aged bitty. What was it going to be this time, Lorelai wondered as she trudged down the stairs.

As soon as Lorelai came into view Cecelia began "I have put up with a lot of things, but a thief in my house, never!"

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked as she reached the bottom step.

"Don't you play innocent, Lorelai. I know exactly how you work. You don't pull any wool over my eyes."

"Are you accusing me of stealing something?" Lorelai asked, offensively.

"The school called today." Cecelia huffed. "They found a gold watch in Karl's locker. Someone stole it from the headmaster. _My_ Karl would never steal… I know that you did this. Well, it's not going to work. I won't stand for it."

"You're cracked…" Lorelai spat. "I would never steal… and even if I did how could I put it in Karl's locker?"

"You've figured out his combination. He's already told me you know his combination, you think you're so smooth and so clever… you've met your match you little snot." Cecelia took a deep breath. "Richard!"

Richard quickly came into the sitting room. "My goodness, what is all this yelling about?"

"I hope you're satisfied…" Cecelia glared. "She's qualified for Juvenile Hall now."

"What?" Richard asked not understanding such an obscure statement.

"She stole a gold watch from the headmaster of her school… then she planted it in Karl's locker."

Richard glanced over at Lorelai. "Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, in my study, now.."

"Dad, I didn't…"

"My study…" Richard repeated.

Lorelai let out a long aggravated sigh and walked into the study. Richard followed close behind and closed the door.

"Do you really think I would steal?" Lorelai asked before Richard could begin his preaching.

"I don't know, Lorelai. I don't know what you are capable of doing anymore. I see no cut off line with you. You're always picking on Karl and trying to get him in trouble. You're grades are slipping, your attitude is unacceptable…."

"Karl is a liar… and a thief… and a manipulator. " Lorelai said calmly. "But I know you're going to take his side… and I know that you're going to believe Cecelia and him over me, so go ahead… ground me." Lorelai folded her arms.

"No… I am not going to ground you, Lorelai." Richard replied. "Grounding is pointless."

Well that was one thing Lorelai could agree with Richard on, she thought to herself.

"You've forced me to a punishment I hoped I would never have to face…" Richard began to undo his belt.

Lorelai's eyes widened as she watched her father. "What are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai, but you've left me with no other choice." Richard pulled off his belt and folded it neatly. "Turn around… put your hands there on my desk."

"You're not serious…" Lorelai said her voice becoming higher. "You're going to hit me?"

"It's not hitting… it's spanking."

"Daddy…" Lorelai replied her voice filled with sadness. Lorelai had never been "spanked" in her life.

A few minutes later, Lorelai opened the door to the study and walked out. Cecelia watched as the girl walked immediately upstairs. She smiled and walked into the study. Richard was sitting at his desk with his head lowered.

"Richard…" Cecelia said softly.

"I've never raised a hand to Lorelai." Richard mumbled. "Thirteen years and I never raised a hand to the girl."

"Perhaps that's been the problem." Cecelia concluded.

"Have you ever spanked Karl?" Richard asked looking up his wife.

Cecelia fluttered. "Well, of course not… he's never deserved a spanking."

"I see." Richard replied solemnly.

"If he ever did, don't be mislead, I would give him one." Cecelia added. "But Karl is one of the most well behaved children I have ever seen."

"He's not perfect." Richard replied. "He's a child, he makes mistakes just like any other child."

"Richard…" Cecelia came over closer to him and sat down on his lap. "You're doing what's best for Lorelai." Cecelia playfully fiddled with Richard's collar. "Why don't you come up to bed? We can let out some of this stress that's all bottled up."

"Cecelia, it's 6:30 in the evening…" Richard objected.

"So?" Cecelia smiled. "I promise you won't regret it. We could even do it here if you'd like… that would be a change."

"I …" Richard's lips were suddenly attacked by Cecelia's. She breathlessly kissed him several times. Before Richard realized what was happening, Cecelia had removed nearly all of her clothing and most of Richard's.

"The children…" Richard sputtered between kisses.

"They're both upstairs." Cecelia replied. "Besides, I shut the door."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Joan was walking through the hallway dusting off all the shelves and tables. It amazed her that so much dust could settle in so little time. She had just dusted the upstairs hallway a week ago. As she came closer to Lorelai's room, she could her sobs from behind the door.

Something told Joan that Lorelai needed her, but split between herself, Joan felt that she should keep her nose out of it, enough was going on already. As the sobbing continued, Joan's heart began to ache for the young girl. She couldn't resist any longer. How could she continue to stand in the hall way and dust when she distinctly knew Lorelai was crying? Joan could never be so cruel.

Joan slowly opened the door. "Lorelai?"

Lorelai was laying on her stomach with her face buried into her pillows. She rose slightly from the bed when she saw Joan walk in. "Go away…" Lorelai replied through her sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Joan asked, ignoring Lorelai's comment. She walked closer to the girl.

"Leave me alone…" Lorelai sniffled.

Joan had never seen Lorelai cry this much. This was by far the worst shape she had ever seen the girl. "Sweetheart, what happened?"

Lorelai turned over and faced the wall. "I don't want to talk about it, okay…" she curled up into small ball.

Joan slowly moved closer towards the sobbing girl. As she became closer, and the light from the bedside lamp became brighter, Joan could seen marks on Lorelai's upper leg. Quickly, Joan leaned down to get a better look. Lorelai quickly turned over.

"Stop!" Lorelai whaled.

"Lorelai, what is this?" Joan demanded.

"Nothing…"

Joan lifted up Lorelai's shirt to reveal more lashes. "How did you get these?" Joan asked trying to piece together what could have happened. A thought quickly crossed Joan's mind… but no, it couldn't possibly be true… Richard would never raise a hand to Lorelai.

Joan's eyes locked with Lorelai's. Without saying a word, Joan knew exactly what had happened. The connection between them at this moment was so strong it was like Joan could read Lorelai's mind.

"He hit you…." Joan repeated in a low whisper. Awestruck, Joan sat down on the bed.

"Please don't tell anybody…" Lorelai said as she tried to regain control of her emotions.

Joan quickly wiped at her eyes, refusing to let any tears be shed. "I won't." Joan replied.

"I didn't deserve it…" Lorelai continued. "they accused me of stealing a watch and fixing it so Karl would get the blame, but I didn't do it, Joan… I swear I didn't do it!" Lorelai collapsed into Joan's arms.

Joan's attempt at fighting back her tears was quickly failing and before long she could feel the warm salty water trickling down her face. "I know you didn't Lorelai." Joan soothed. "I know you didn't." Now, more than ever Joan wanted to burst forth with the truth. It was one thing to keep a secret from Lorelai, but to stand by and watch someone hurt her physically, no mother could do that.


	16. A Hard Day's Night

After Lorelai had had a good cry. Joan stood from the bed. "I'll bring you up some hot chocolate…" she smiled. "How does that sound?"

Lorelai dried away at the last of her tears. "It sounds good…"

"Good, get comfortable…. I'll be right back." Joan left a much calmer Lorelai resting on her bed.

Joan made her way down the stairs and was heading towards the kitchen, as she walked by the door to Richard's study, she halted. Joan had never been so angry in all her life as she was at this very moment. She turned back and bolted through the study door. She gasped when she saw Richard and Cecelia sprawled across the desk.

"Joan!" Richard yelped as tossed Cecelia to the floor. He quickly buttoned his pants and stood to his feet. Cecelia let out a small huff as she pulled herself back up, buttoned her blouse, and awkwardly arranged her skirt.

Joan continued on as if she had not seen anything out of the ordinary. "Mr. Gilmore, I desperately need to talk to you." Joan replied her voice hard and cold.

"This isn't a very good time…" Richard answered as he buttoned his shirt and fiddled with his cuffs.

"I'm sorry, but it can't wait." Joan said firmly. "I need to speak to you… alone." Joan added as she glanced at Cecelia.

Richard also glanced over at Cecelia. "Sweetheart, could you excuse us for a moment?"

Cecelia frowned and angrily marched out of the room slamming the door behind her.

"You should really knock first from now on." Richard said as he came out from behind the desk.

"And you should save it for the bedroom, Mr. Gilmore." Joan quickly replied. "And while we're on the subject of what we should each do and not do, I demand to know why you hit Lorelai."

Richard was taken aback. "I did not _hit _Lorelai… I merely spanked her."

"There are bruises and lashes that say different." Joan snapped.

"It's a form of parenting…"

" No, sir, it is a form of abuse. I've always kept my end of the deal to never harm Lorelai and to never let her know she's adopted, but you have broken that promise Mr. Gilmore, you've _harmed _ my daughter."

"Now, wait just a minute…" Richard offensively began.

"No! You wait…" Joan scoffed as she came closer to Richard's face. "You may be her legal father, but I am her birth mother. She's my flesh and blood, not yours. If you ever lay a hand to her again, I will see that she's taken away from you."

"Ha…" Richard said loudly. "I'd like to see you try." He glared. "I've given Lorelai more than you could have given her in a hundred years. She's been to the best schools, had the best teachers, worn the best clothes… No court will find me worthy of losing my daughter Joan, just because I gave her a spanking."

"You may have given Lorelai a wonderful education and showered her with gifts and belongings, and at one time, I honestly believed you gave her more love than an adopted parent could… but you've lost it Richard. You're neglecting her."

Richard stared at the young woman. He had never heard her call him by his first name. It had always been Mr. Gilmore.

"Never, harm my daughter again." Joan repeated. "If you do, I will tell her the truth."

"If you do, you'll lose your job." Richard said spitefully.

"Maybe so… but I'd gain my daughter."

Joan turned to leave the study.

"I know all the best lawyers in Connecticut." Richard spoke as Joan was walking away. "You'd never win her legally. "If you tell Lorelai anything, you'll lose any chance of ever seeing her again."

Joan continued to walk out of the study, paying no mind to Richard's bluff.

Joan took a deep breath before entering Lorelai's room again. She didn't want to make it noticeable that she was upset. Joan smiled as she walked towards Lorelai's bed. "Here we are, a fresh hot cup of hot chocolate." Joan handed the cup to Lorelai.

"Thanks." Lorelai replied gratefully.

Joan glanced down again at the marks on Lorelai's legs. "Sweetheart, are you in pain?"

Lorelai allowed her eyes to glance down at the bruises. "Not really." She replied. "I was for a few minutes but it's pretty much gone away now."

Joan pressed against one of the marks. Lorelai flinched, obviously in pain. "How many times did he hit you?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Nine or ten I suppose."

"Did you ask him to stop?"

"No…" Lorelai replied. "I didn't even cry until I came up to my room. I would die before I would let Cecelia see me cry."

"He won't you hit anymore." Joan said assertively. "I promise."

"He does whatever Cecelia wants him to do." Lorelai replied.

"So it seems." Joan answered. "She really falls into the evil stepmother category."

"Amen." Lorelai replied. "Remember when I wanted to run away?"

Joan smiled. "I do."

"And I asked you to come with me, but you said you had no reason to run away. Well, do you have a reason now, Joan?"

Joan sighed. "I'd love nothing more than to run away with you and start a new life, but we both know that can't be."

"Maybe Dad won't even care…" Lorelai replied. "Sometimes I think he would be more happy if I wasn't around… that way he could have his perfect family. Maybe… Maybe you could talk to him… ask him if I could just go live with you somewhere." Lorelai's eyes were beginning to tear up again.

"Lorelai, I can't do that." Joan sympathetically remarked.

"Karl told me he heard Dad and Cecelia talking about boarding school. He says they are going to send me away… if he's willing to send me away to boarding school, he could just send me away with you…"

"You shouldn't pay any attention Karl." Joan said as she stood from Lorelai's bed. "You're not going anywhere… Now, get some rest." Joan pulled the covers up around Lorelai. "I'll fix your favorite breakfast in the morning. And just to make it extra special, I'll serve it to you right here in bed so you can eat in peace and not have to see Karl and Cecelia."

A huge smile streaked across Lorelai's face. "You don't have to do that, I'm not afraid of them."

"Oh, I know you're not afraid." Joan clarified. "But everyone can use a break every now and then." Joan leaned down and kissed Lorelai gently on the head. "Good night." She switched off the lamp beside Lorelai's bed.

As Joan reached the doorway, Lorelai spoke softly into the dark. "I love you, Joan."

Joan paused and turned back in the direction of her daughter. "I love you too, Lorelai."

Joan closed the door behind her and leaned up against the wall. She didn't know how much longer she keep up this charade. Lorelai needed a mother more than ever, and Cecelia certainly couldn't fill those shoes. Joan's patients were hanging on by a thread.


	17. Birthday

Months went by, and Lorelai was never spanked again after Joan threatened Richard. Summer was on the verge of arriving, and Lorelai was about to turn fourteen. So many things awaited the bright minded young girl, as she prepared for high school next fall. Karl, on the other hand, had failed most of his classes and would be forced to repeat the 8th grade. Cecelia of course would never uphold a statement that Karl was incompetent. He was merely bored and restricted, that's why he didn't do well. The boarding school that he had previously told Lorelai about was ironically meant for him. It was "a splendid opportunity for Karl to enrich his education and social skills" as Cecelia would say.

Lorelai had learned the best way to stay out of the line of fire with Cecelia was to completely stay away from her and Richard all together. It was impossible to catch Richard alone. Cecelia would always be there, sitting on his lap, or standing over his shoulder. Lorelai honestly believed they went to the bathroom together.

The most disturbing thing Lorelai had been forced to deal with was that every afternoon at 4:00, when Richard came home from work, he and Cecelia would go straight to the bedroom. Lorelai could assume what they were doing, but after a while one wouldn't have to assume at all because the noises were so loud and intolerable a deaf man could here them. Every afternoon at 4:00, Lorelai made it a point to leave the house to spare herself.

Joan had managed to keep herself silent. There were many more days she just wanted to blurt it out and have it over with already, but Richard had never again harmed Lorelai, so Joan figured it best to let it be. Joan had been occupied with birthday plans for Lorelai. She knew that Lorelai's birthdays were usually gloomy. They brought back sad memories of Emily and the fact that Emily passed away only days after Lorelai's birthday certainly didn't help. But this year, Joan was going to be sure Lorelai had a good no a great birthday. She had been making plans with Richard to take Lorelai to a concert. At First, Richard frowned heavily upon the idea, but slowly began to accept it.

Lorelai's taste in music was spectacular in Joan's opinion. She loved all the bands that Joan secretly listened to in her room at night. In fact, Lorelai had sneaked into Joan's room several times and borrowed her tapes. Van Halen had always been her favorite, and as luck would have it, they were going to be performing in Hartford the weekend before Lorelai's birthday. After several calls Joan had finally scored two tickets. She could hardly wait for Lorelai's reaction.

"I don't understand the music teenagers listen too these days." Richard grumbled.

Joan smiled. "You should give it a try Mr. Gilmore, you may like it."

"No thank you, I'll stick with The Beatles any day."

"Oh, The Beatles are wonderful." Joan replied. "I have one of their old records, I've listened to it so much it barely plays now days."

"You like The Beatles?" Richard asked.

"Of course."

"And you like this…" Richard paused to think of what it was called. "Van Halen?"

"Yep." Joan answered.

"That's intriguing that you can listen to both types of music." Richard noted.

Joan smirked "All the more reason you should give Van Halen a chance."

"I'll think about it." Richard replied as he opened his paper.

Lorelai came bursting through the kitchen. He hair was teased as high as she could get it, and she was wearing a Van Halen t-shirt with black converse sneakers.

"My god, you look you're going out for Halloween." Richard said as he peaked over his paper.

"Dad, it's called style." Lorelai replied. "Are you ready Joan?" Lorelai asked excitedly.

"Almost." Joan replied as she finished labeling the food containers. "There we go. That takes care of dinner for tonight."

Richard cleared his throat, "Lorelai I want to get a few things straight with you before you leave…"

Lorelai sighed. "I know, Dad… stay with Joan. Do as she says. Don't talk to strangers…"

"Yes all of those things are important." Richard replied. "But most importantly, have a wonderful time."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Well, we'd better get going…" Joan said as she slipped off her apron to reveal Lorelai's matching Van Halen t-shirt. "We'll want to get a good parking spot."

"Bye Dad." Lorelai replied as she quickly hurried out the door.

"Home by 1:00 am." Richard reminded Joan.

"Not a minute later." Joan answered as she followed after Lorelai.

At the concert, Lorelai was ecstatic. She kept yelling things out to Joan, but the music and crowd were so loud it was impossible to hear anything.

"This is so awesome!" Lorelai yelled as loud as she could.

"What!" Joan asked in return.

"I said this is so awesome!"

"What!"

"Never mind, I'll tell you later!" Lorelai focused her attention back to the stage.

After the concert, Lorelai and Joan made their way out to the car. Joan gazed down at her watch.

"It's already 12:30." Joan mumbled as she looked ahead at all the people standing in front of them.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Dad will understand if we're a few minutes late." Lorelai reassured. "We'll just explain to him that the exit lines were so long it took longer to leave. Did you see how nice he was this evening? He's in a good mood… maybe he's finally starting to…"

"Lorelai, I promise Mr. Gilmore I would have you home at exactly 1:00. We have to find a quicker way out of here." Joan cut off Lorelai's rambling. She knew Richard had sincerely changed, and that if they weren't back by exactly 1:00 there would be hell to pay.

Lorelai looked around. She spotted a woman's bathroom. "Come on." Lorelai tugged on Joan's hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To the bathroom."

"Lorelai, can't you hold it till we get out of here?"

Lorelai pushed open the bathroom door. "There…" Lorelai pointed. "We can crawl out the window."

Joan stared at the bathroom window. She let out a deep sigh and walked towards it. "I'll give you a boost."

Lorelai laughed. "This is so cool." She replied as she scaled the bathroom wall.

Joan pulled into the driveway at exactly 1:00. She glanced over at Lorelai who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. She reached over and nudged her.

"Hey." Joan whispered. "Hey."

Lorelai's eyes slowly opened. "I fell asleep…" Lorelai said blankly. "I didn't even realize I was tired."

"You had quite an exciting evening…" Joan replied. "Come on, let's get inside."

The two girls walked inside. Lorelai hugged Joan goodnight and thanked her again for the great evening, then headed straight up to her room. Joan yawned and headed towards the kitchen. She opened the door and was startled to see Richard sitting at the table.

"Oh, Mr. Gilmore, I didn't expect to see you." Joan replied as she walked over pulled some leftovers out of the fridge."

"Just making sure you two came home safely." Richard replied. "1:00 on the dot." He added. "Very good."

"How was your evening?" Joan asked as she sat down across from Richard.

"Oh, the usual." Richard answered. "Karl was a bit upset that Lorelai go to go to a concert. Cecelia has made plans to take him to a theme park for his birthday in August."

"A theme park… wow." Joan replied.

"It's the least we can do, he'll be shipped off to boarding school this fall."

Joan nodded her head. "You don't seem too sorry to see him go."

Richard sighed. "Honestly, I'll consider it a relief. One child in the house is more than enough. I thought about perhaps sending Lorelai to boarding school as well, but … well, could you imagine the response I would get if I tried? Lorelai would never settle for something like that."

Joan crossed her fingers. "Well, if you're looking for some time away from Lorelai, I would be more than happy to take care of her for a while. I have a little money put away, it would be enough to rent a small place near by." Joan couldn't believe she had just suggested this idea. It was too late now, she had to follow through with it.

Richard didn't reply immediately, instead he sat back in his chair and placed his hand under his chin. "No, I don't think that would be a very good idea. Lorelai and you alone for a long period of time would result in her figuring out things she has no business knowing."

Joan forced a smile. "You're probably right. I don't know what I was thinking." She stood from the table. "Well, it's late. I'll see you in the morning. Good night."


	18. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry

The next morning Lorelai was coming down the stairs humming a Van Halen song. She hadn't been in this good of a mood since the time she caught Karl trying to shave in the bathroom. The thought of all the tiny squares of toilet paper on his face, still made her laugh. Expecting breakfast to be ready, Lorelai headed to the kitchen. To her surprise, the kitchen was completely empty. She saw a note laying on the counter.

_Cecelia, _

_They have called an early business meeting. I'll be home later today. I love you, and shall be thinking of you every minute. _

_Richard_

Lorelai rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen. She checked Joan's room and found her folding laundry.

"No breakfast this morning?" Lorelai asked as she stood in the doorway.

"Karl and Cecelia ate with Mr. Gilmore this morning." Joan replied. "I can whip you up something in just a few minutes though." She added with a smile.

"It's okay… I can just fix a bowl of cereal." Lorelai turned and walked back towards the kitchen.

Lorelai stopped at the doorway as she heard Cecelia's voice from inside the kitchen.

Cecelia held the phone with one hand and began to sip her tea with the other. "Honestly, Elizabeth the child is putting gray hairs in my head." Lorelai had a feeling Cecelia wasn't talking about Karl. "She's the most annoying creature I have ever encountered. The truth isn't in the girl." There was a pause in the conversation. Cecelia let out a sigh. "To beat it all, Richard told me she's not even his biological daughter. No relation at all actually… It only makes it worse. How am I supposed to treat her like one of my own, when she's not even his?"

Lorelai couldn't believe her ears. This must be the truth that Richard and Joan had been keeping from Lorelai. Lorelai leaned closer to the door.

"She doesn't even know she's adopted… Richard wants to keep it a secret, but I feel like telling the little brat the truth more than you can imagine. She thinks she's so high and mighty, finding out she isn't a Gilmore would knock her down a few pegs. I am most certainly more of a Gilmore than she'll ever be."

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" Joan asked as she came up behind her.

Lorelai quickly turned around, bolted by Joan, and ran up the stairs.

"Lorelai…" Joan called as she followed after her.

Lorelai ran to her room and closed the door. She needed time to think, time to process the information she had just heard. Could it be true? Was Lorelai really adopted? Lorelai heard Joan coming down the hallway. The door opened and Joan stepped into the room.

"Lorelai, what's going on?"

Lorelai's face was pale and she looked as if she had just seen a ghost. "I don't feel well." Lorelai replied faintly. Just then Lorelai felt her stomach turn. She quickly ran to the bathroom and lifted up the toilet.

A few moments later Joan came in behind her with a cool damp wash cloth. "Here, let me clean your face." Joan soothingly offered. Lorelai leaned back and allowed Joan to assist her. "What on earth has made you so sick? I hope you don't have food poisoning." Lorelai felt her stomach begin to knot up again. She quickly leaned her head over the toilet once more. "I'll be right back, I'll run down to the kitchen and find some medicine."

Joan hurried down stairs to the kitchen. As she walked through the kitchen doorway, Cecelia made it a point to end her phone conversation.

"Is something wrong, Joan?" Cecelia asked as she watched Joan rummage through the cabinets.

"Lorelai is sick." Joan simply answered. "I need to find the stomach medicine."

Cecelia smiled. "Perhaps staying out all night and partying has taken a toll on her."

Joan ignored the comment and kept looking for the bottle of medicine. "I know I saw some in here the other day…" Joan gripped.

"It's funny. I bet you wouldn't take near as much concern in Karl if he were ill." Cecelia replied.

Joan turned and face the woman. "Cecelia, you know I would care for Karl if he were ill. I would never leave a child sick without medication."

"That's something else I've been meaning to tell you, Richard and I both feel it would be best if you called me Mrs. Gilmore from now on."

"Can we possibly discuss this later?" Joan replied, trying to keep her temper under control.

"We can." Cecelia answered. "But it will still be the same conversation with the same outcome. Like it or not, Joan, I am Mrs. Gilmore." Cecelia stood from the table and left the room.

Joan sighed and returned to her search for the medicine, finally she spotted it hidden in the main back of the cabinet. She grabbed it and hurried back upstairs to Lorelai.

Lorelai's stomach had calmed down, but her emotions were running haywire. She had slowly made her way to her bed and laid down. Suddenly, so many things were starting to make sense. This must be why Emily never truly treated her like a daughter. This must be why Richard no longer adored her the way he used to. This must be why she had this constant feeling of not belonging with her family. But Lorelai had to ask herself, if Richard and Emily were not her real parents, who were?

"There you are." Joan replied as she walked into Lorelai's room. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Joan sat down on the bed and unscrewed the bottle. "I know you don't like the way this stuff tastes…" she began. "so I brought you some water to chase it down with."

"Thank you…" Lorelai whispered as she swallowed the red liquid and took a drink of water after it.

"Well, you're most certainly better at taking medicine than you used to be." Joan smiled. "It used to be quite a fight." Joan gently shoved back a few pieces of hair from Lorelai's face.

Lorelai closed her eyes and rested on her bed. There was only one solution to this dilemma, she had to ask Richard about the truth.


	19. Your Mother Should Know

Richard let out a long sigh as he opened the door and walked into the house. It was nearly 7:30 and he was starved, annoyed, and exhausted. Cecelia briskly came walking to greet him.

"Darling… you must be utterly fatigued." Cecelia planted a small kiss on his lips.

"That I am." Richard replied. "One of our new employees fell behind on paperwork, it took hours to sort everything out. We nearly lost one of our best clients."

Cecelia guided Richard into the kitchen. "I had the maid make your favorite meal. Steak with peppers and onions, a large baked potato and for desert… lemon pie."

"You know me too well." Richard smiled as he loosened his tie.

"Well, someone has to make sure you're getting everything you desire."

Lorelai heard her father's car pull into the garage, but she decided to wait until after he had eaten to approach him. Also, she wanted to catch him alone, and she knew that would not be possible for the first thirty minutes of his arrival. Cecelia would be all over him asking him pointless questions, and bragging about how well Karl did at this and that.

Finally, Richard excused himself from the table and headed to the bedroom. His intentions were to take a hot shower, but Lorelai had other plans.

"Dad…" Lorelai called from the end of the hallway. She felt an unfamiliar awkwardness as she called for him.

"Good evening, Lorelai." Richard replied as he continued to walk towards his room.

"I have to talk to you."

"Can it wait till tomorrow, please. I'm far too tired…"

"No…" Lorelai's voice was eerily calm. "I have to talk to you now."

Richard sighed. "If you're planning to tattle on Karl or Cecelia, then I suggest you save your breath, I …"

"I want to know to the truth." Lorelai interjected.

"I beg your pardon?" Richard gazed at the young girl.

"About me… I want to know to the truth about me." Lorelai fiercely fought back tears.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do!" Lorelai snapped. "Am I adopted?... Am I!"

Richard continued to stare at the young girl blankly.

"Answer my question…" Tears began to escape from Lorelai's blue eyes.

"Of course not, Lorelai…" Richard's faint voice replied. "Where would you ever get such a ludicrous idea?"

"You're lying…"

"I am in no mood for your antics tonight." Richard dismissed. "If you'll excuse me, I am in dire need of a hot shower."

"You're lying!" Lorelai yelled again as Richard shut the door to his bedroom.

A cry of frustration whaled from Lorelai's body. She ran back to her room and slammed her door. Out of anger, she began to destroy her room. She broke her fancy porcelain dolls. She ripped her expensive bed sheets. Everything in this room was a lie. She wasn't Lorelai Gilmore, and the man who claimed to be her father didn't even have enough guts to admit it.

Joan heard a loud thump come from upstairs, which would have been the noise Lorelai's TV made a she shoved it from her TV stand. She hurried upstairs and straight to Lorelai's room. The door was locked.

"Lorelai!" Joan called from the other side of the door. "What is going on in there?" She pounded on the door. "Open this door!"

"Go away!" Lorelai screeched.

Joan sighed and reached for the key that Richard and Emily had kept hidden above the door. Lorelai was surprised to see the door effortlessly open and Joan walk in.

Joan's mouth opened as she glanced around at the disaster which once was Lorelai's room. "My God, Lorelai…" she said slowly. "you've ruined everything."

"What does it matter! It's all a lie!" Lorelai yelled.

"What's a lie?"

"This! All of this!" Lorelai moved her arms around the room. "I'm not Lorelai Gilmore… This is not my room, this is not my house!"

Joan's heart began to thump louder and louder. "Sweetheart…." Joan approached the young girl.

"Get away from me!" Lorelai backed up quickly. "You're just as bad as he is! You knew this whole time and you never told me!"

"Lorelai…." Joan's eyes began to water. "I _wanted _to tell you… I wanted you to know… believe me, I did."

Lorelai stomped the floor. "You should have! You should have told me!"

"I'm sorry…" Joan apologized… "I'm so sorry."

"Do you know who my real parents are?" Lorelai asked. Joan quickly looked away. "Who are they?" Lorelai demanded. "Are they alive? Did they ever try to see me?" Lorelai's slowly sank to her knees. "Please, Joan…" She begged. "Who are they?" Joan kneeled down beside the shattered teenager and wrapped her arms around her. "Please…" Lorelai continued to beg though her voice was muffled by tears. "Please…"

Joan tilted the girl's head up so that she was looking her straight in the eye. "I'm your mother, sweetheart."


	20. Nobody's Child

Lorelai's crying subsided for a moment. Joan could see the confusion written all over her face. Not knowing what else to say, Joan pulled the girl in for tight hug. Lorelai rejected the hug and pushed herself away from Joan.

"How could you?" Lorelai replied in a low whisper. "You've been here this whole time, pretending to be our _maid _…" Lorelai said each word slowly, like she was carving her way through the air.

Joan hesitated to reply. "Lorelai, it was the only way I could see you."

Lorelai's self pity quickly turned to anger. "All this time…. all this time… You let me think my real mother had died three years ago!"

"Lorelai… It's just not that simple…"

"Is that why you've always been so nice to me? Is that why you took me to the concert?"

"Sweetheart, I love you. I'd do anything for you."

"Except tell me the truth…" Lorelai stood from her feet. She had dried away at the last her of tears. "Everyone around here has been living a lie."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know…" Joan stood to her feet as well.

"I want to know everything…"

The next morning, Joan waited nervously in the kitchen for Richard. She had been up most of the night talking with Lorelai. Though she was confused, and shocked with the entire situation, Lorelai couldn't have been happier to find out Joan was her real mother. It had given her something to hold on to again, and someone to believe in. When Richard walked through the door, Joan's heart sank.

"Good morning, Joan." Richard replied.

"Good morning." Joan repeated. "Mr. Gilmore… we need to talk."

"Let me guess… you're wanting to speak about what transpired with Lorelai and I last night?"

Joan let out a quick huff. "Of course, what else?"

"Joan, I have no desire to speak of the matter. I told Lorelai that she is _not_ adopted. I plan to leave it that way."

"Well, sir I'm afraid that won't work."

"And why not?" Richard poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Last night, Lorelai wrecked her bedroom…. I had to use the secret key just to get to her. She was so angry and so devastated it took hours to calm her down. I'm sorry, Mr. Gilmore, but when I saw her in that condition, begging for the truth and pleading for any type of consolation, I had to tell her."

Richard slammed his coffee cup down on the table. "Tell her what?" he grunted through his teeth.

"I told her everything…" Joan replied coolly. "About how she was born. Who her biological father is… Why she ended up here. Why I've been the maid for the last fourteen years."

"You had no right!" Richard roared. "You've broken our agreement!"

"I didn't break out agreement. Do _you _know how she found out she was adopted, Mr. Gilmore?" Joan folded her arms. "She over heard Cecelia talking to a friend on the phone. And believe me, it wasn't a pleasant conversation. Lorelai's heart was shattered. She asked you for the truth, and you lied to her. I've avoided this subject as long as I could, but last night was the final straw for me."

"That's ridiculous, Cecelia would never talk about Lorelai. How dare you use her as a scapegoat…"

"A scapegoat?" Joan offensively repeated.

"You're the one who has told Lorelai everything, it's your fault she knows!" Richard jumped from the table. "Don't pretend you are sorry for letting this horrible secret out. I know it gave you pleasure to tell her."

Joan jumped from the table as well. "Of course it did! She is my daughter! I love her with every fiber of my being!"

"Well, I hope you're happy… You've gotten what you wanted. Pack your things, I want you out immediately!"

Joan raised her chin. "I've already packed them."

"Good, that means you can leave right now." Richard's face had turned beat red.

"Mr. Gilmore, I'll be returning… and when I do, I'll be taking Lorelai with me."

"Ha…." Richard laughed. "You've ruined any chance of ever seeing her again."

Joan smiled. "Really? I am her birthmother. I have more of right to see Lorelai than you'll ever have."

"Lorelai is nearly fourteen years old." Richard countered. "You can't make her stay with you, she _will_ have a choice in the matter."

"And she'll choose me." Joan replied as she pulled her suitcases out from under the table. "Good bye, Mr. Gilmore."

"Good riddance…" Richard mumbled.

Richard watched from the window as Joan's taxi drove off down the street. Suddenly, Lorelai crossed his mind. He quickly made his way upstairs. Lorelai was still sleeping her bed. Joan had cleaned up most of the mess from the night before, but there were so many things that could never be repaired nor replaced.

"Lorelai…" Richard walked over and gently shook the girl. "Lorelai, wake up."

Lorelai's eyes slowly opened. She rose from her bed. "What?" She asked sleepily.

"We have to talk."

"I don't want to talk." Lorelai replied as she fell back into her pillow.

"Well, you're going to. I have to explain everything…"

Lorelai sighed. "I asked _you _to talk last night, and you ignored the entire subject. Joan explained everything, I don't need to hear anything you have to say." She rolled over and turned her back to Richard.

"Joan is gone now. I have to set everything straight. I …"

Lorelai bolted up from her bed. "What do you mean Joan is gone?"

"She left…"

"You sent her away?" Lorelai's voice screeched.

"Actually, she already had her bags packed. She intended to leave."

Lorelai jumped out of her bed. "Where did she go?" Lorelai asked as she jerked her suitcase out from under the bed. "I'm going with her."

Richard stood from the bed. "Absolutely not. You're staying here."

"No!" Lorelai retorted. "I'm going with Joan…"

Richard grabbed the suitcase from Lorelai and threw it across the room. "I said you're staying here."

"You're not my father! I don't have to stay here!"

Richard slapped Lorelai across the face. "I am your father." He growled.

Lorelai quickly put her hand to her face. Tears began to whelm in her eyes.

"I'm the only one who is going to take care of you. If Joan really cared about you, do you thinks he would have left this morning?"

"She'll come back for me." Lorelai replied as a tear made its way down her reddened face.

"Don't be a fool, Lorelai…" Richard replied. "You know this is your home. This is your family. Whatever crazy idea you have in your head, you might as well erase this instant. You're not going anywhere."


	21. To Know Her Is To Love Her

"Richard, I cannot continue to live like this!" Cecelia shrieked! "I am treated like a convict in this house." Cecelia threw her suitcase across the bed. "You can live here, and put up with that brat, but I don't have to!"

"Cecelia, please, let's talk about this…" Richard persisted.

"Haven't I made myself clear? I am leaving!" Cecelia began to toss her clothes into her suitcase. "Thank God Karl is in boarding school. At least he doesn't have to put up with this every day."

"Cecelia, sweetheart, I know you're angry, but don't leave." Richard grabbed her hands. "I love you… I can't live my life without you."

Cecelia glared into his eyes. "Then I suggest you dispose of that hideous toad."

Richard lowered his head. "Joan has been fighting me tooth and nail for the past three months for custody of Lorelai… If it will make you happy, I'll hand Lorelai over."

"Richard, that would be the most sensible thing you've done since we've been together."

"Cecelia…" Richard replied with hurt in his voice.

"Don't act like you can't see it. She doesn't belong here, Richard."

"I suppose you're right." Richard paused. "I'll call Joan in the morning."

The next morning, Joan arrived at the Gilmore house bright and early. She stood in the foyer, uncomfortable with going any further into the house. Lorelai had been packing her things since 6 am and still couldn't believe this was actually happening. She tried to pack everything as quickly as she could, afraid that the longer she took the more likely Richard was to change his mind and make her stay.

Joan's heart warmed quickly as she saw the girl lugging the suitcase down the stairs.

"I have a couple more…" Lorelai said breathlessly. "I'll be right back." Lorelai quickly ascended the stairs and returned with two more suitcases."

Richard came into the foyer and faced Joan. "Thank you, Mr. Gilmore." Joan said politely.

Richard nodded his head and turned back to Lorelai. "I'll have the driver bring Anna when you're ready. Good bye, Lorelai." Richard said coldly.

"Bye." Lorelai replied with ease.

With that, Richard turned and left the foyer. Joan and Lorelai stood alone for a moment.

"Well, are you ready?" Joan asked as she picked up one of the suitcases.

"Born ready." Lorelai smiled.

Joan laughed. "That you were. Let's go…"

Joan and Lorelai walked out of the Gilmore mansion and into an awaiting taxi cab. Lorelai felt a rush of freedom flow over her body as the cab drove off. Never again would she be a prisoner inside that dreary house. From now on, Lorelai had a second chance. A completely different life to live. She was excited… She was optimistic… she was ready.

"I know you're you used to a big house, and a big bed room, and well big everything but…"

"Joan…" Lorelai interjected. "We could live in a cardboard box and I would still be happy."

Joan's face brightened. "And you don't mind going to a public school?"

"I _want _to go to public school."

"Okay, then…" Joan replied. "We're good to go."

"So, where do you live now?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, the rent in Hartford is very high, so I moved to small town where the cost of living isn't so expensive. It's called Stars Hollow."

"I've never heard of it." Lorelai replied.

"Neither had I … That's how small it is. It's wonderful there, Lorelai. You'll love it. Everyone is so friendly. It's kind of like one large family living together in one town."

A few minutes later, the cab pulled into a driveway. "Well, this is it." Joan announced.

Lorelai stepped out of the cab and looked at the small townhouse apartment. It was just like a story book. A little white building with red shutters and a red roof. A small square yard with a flower bed and a white picked fence to top it off.

"We live on the bottom half." Joan said. "There's a very friendly woman named Daisy that lives on the top half."

"It's perfect." Lorelai replied as her eyes scanned over the property.

Joan opened the door and showed Lorelai around. "This here will be your room. It faces the street and the sun comes through the window every morning… the whole room has a soft orange glow. You'll love it." Joan lead her into another room. "And my room will be straight across from your's."

Lorelai was becoming overwhelmed. "This is all so amazing…"

Joan put her arm around Lorelai. "I'm glad you like it, sweetheart."

"I love it." Lorelai corrected. "I can't believe I'm actually here."

"Neither can I."

"Thank you." Lorelai embraced her mother. "Thank you for taking me away."

"Thank you for wanting to come with me." Joan countered.

Lorelai looked back at her room. "Can I decorate it any way that I want?"

"Of course, it's your room."

Lorelai became excited. She had never been allowed to decorate her room, or even have a say in it for that matter. "Oh, and can I get one of those phones that are shaped like a car?"

"You may…"

"And a Van Halen poster!" Lorelai's eyes sparkled.

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

"Come on, let's get started!" Lorelai grabbed Joan by the hand.

After several hours of unpacking, rearranging, and decorating, Lorelai had her room just the way she wanted it. For once, she looked like she was just another average teenager. There were no fancy curtains, or sheets. No expensive porcelain dolls or thousand dollar paintings. Lorelai could not be more content than she was at that very moment.

Lorelai and Joan were resting on the couch. Joan yawned. "This has definitely been an eventful day." Lorelai, who was beginning to nod off to sleep herself agreed.

"Joan?" Lorelai asked in a serious voice. "Do I remind you of my real father any?"

Joan was caught of guard by this question. "Well… you do have his deep blue eyes." Joan replied honestly. "Those eyes could get him anything he wanted." She added with a smile. "And your ambition." Joan laughed. "Anthony had so many plans and ideas."

Lorelai rested her head on Joan's shoulder. "Can you tell me about it again?"

"What's that?" Joan asked.

"How I was born… and how you came looking for me."

"Sure…" Joan smiled as she placed her arm around Lorelai. "I was sixteen… pregnant… and unmarried…" Joan began.


	22. A Beginning

Lorelai stood outside the doors of Stars Hollow High School. She was nervous, but she wouldn't admit it to Joan. Lorelai wasn't exactly a natural at making friends. In fact, she had only had one true friend her entire life. Her name was Samantha. Lorelai and her were friends from first grade till fourth, but then Samantha moved away and Lorelai never bothered with trying to make a new friend. The only reason she got along so well with Sam was because they were so much alike. She didn't act snotty, or snobbish, like all the other school girls and that's why Lorelai liked her so much.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Joan repeated.

"I'm sure." Lorelai shook her head. "This is something I have to do on my own."

"I understand." Joan smiled. "I'll stop by at 3:00 and we can walk home together if you want."

"Yeah… that would be good." Lorelai replied.

"Have a good day, sweetie." Joan hugged Lorelai. "See you this afternoon."

Joan walked away and Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay… I can do this."

Lorelai began to walk towards the doors. She spotted a few people looking at her, but she tried to not make eye contact. She figured it best to just keep to herself for now.

"Hey, looks like we have a new kid." A pale thin boy replied.

"Another girl to turn you down for a date, Kirk." Jackson added.

"Do you think she's a freshman?" Sookie asked.

"Possibly… she looks pretty confused and lost." Jackson noticed.

"Well, we should help her…" Sookie started to walk towards her.

Jackson took Sookie by the arm. "I don't think that's such a good idea Sook."

"Why not?"

"She looks like a loner… And approaching a confused and lost loner on their first day of school always ends badly."

"Oh, Jackson, that's ridiculous." Sookie escaped from Jackson's grasp. "Hey!" Sookie greeted as she walked towards the girl.

Lorelai suddenly looked up and spotted a heavy set girl, with a huge smile on her face walking towards her.

"Hi… I'm Sookie." Sookie extended her hand to Lorelai.

"Lorelai."

"Are you new, Lorelai?"

"Yes, I am." Lorelai noticed the two boys Sookie was with staring at them.

"Well, welcome to Stars Hollow High." Sookie smiled. "I'm not officially the welcoming committee but I do a pretty good job at making new people feel more comfortable."

"Feeling more comfortable already." Lorelai added.

"See." Sookie turned back to Jackson and Kirk. "Come on, I'll introduce you to a couple of my friends."

Jackson leaned over to Kirk. "She's done it again." Jackson whispered. "She's bringing over another outsider."

"Jackson, Kirk, this is Lorelai. Lorelai this is Jackson and Kirk."

Lorelai smiled. "Hi. Nice to meet you guys."

"Yeah." Jackson replied dryly.

"You have very pretty eyes." Kirk randomly spat out."

"Kirk." Sookie Scolded as she passed him a glare.

"Uh, thanks…" Lorelai paused. "You have very nice… hair." Lorelai stammered.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Kirk boasted.

"I bet you do." Lorelai replied with a drop of sarcasm in her voice.

"Have you got a schedule yet?" Sookie asked. "Cause if you haven't, then you'll need to go straight to the office."

"No… I haven't."

"Come on, I'll take you there." Sookie began to walk up the steps.

"Bye." Lorelai said to Jackson and Kirk.

"See you around, blue eyes." Kirk winked.

Sookie and Lorelai walked inside, "Don't let Kirk frighten you. He's completely harmless."

"I never knew Pee Wee Herman had a younger brother." Lorelai replied.

Sookie let out a laugh. "Aw, that's funny." She replied.

Wow, someone who found Lorelai's jokes funny? Maybe Stars Hollow High was going to be even better than she predicted. Lorelai turned the corner and bumped into a tall dark haired boy. His books were knocked from his hands and scattered all over the hallway floor.

"Oh God… I'm so sorry." Lorelai quickly bent down and began to pick up the books.

"It's okay." The boy laughed. "I should pay more attention to where I am going." He bent down beside her and picked up the books. "Here, let's get you up out of the floor." He offered his hand to Lorelai and she took it.

Once to her feet she looked at the boy's face. Lorelai smiled. This guy was very attractive.

"I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Very new." Lorelai replied in an awkward voice.

Sookie stepped in. "Luke, this is Lorelai. Lorelai, this is Luke."

"Lorelai…" Luke repeated. "I've never met a Lorelai before."

"I…." Lorelai began.

"Hey Luke!" A voice yelled.

Luke turned and saw a football headed towards him. He quickly set his books down on the floor and rose back up just in time to catch the football. "John, you idiot!" Luke yelled down the hallway. "You knew I had books in my arms."

John laughed. "Yeah, but you're reflexes are quicker than a cat's, man. Besides, I just bet Tony, here five bucks that you'd catch the football without warning. Thanks for making me five bucks richer." John took the five bucks from the other boy and walked over to where Luke was standing.

"Hey, Sookie." John greeted. His eyes fell upon Lorelai. "Who's your friend?"

"This is, Lorelai…" Sookie replied, in a not as cheery tone as she introduced to everyone else.

"Lorelai…" John smiled. "Well, now I don't know which is prettier, the girl or the name."

"Can it, John." Luke grumbled.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you've already gotten dibs on this one?"

"Wow, they about me like I'm an object." Lorelai's comment was directed towards Sookie but was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'm sorry." Luke apologized. "My friend here has a lot of mental issues. We're trying to get him some help."

"Alright, I'm leaving." John replied. "But I'm taking my football." John scooped the football out of Luke's arms and headed off down the hallway.

Lorelai cleared her throat. "So, that office I've heard so much about…"

"Oh, right… right." Sookie replied quickly. "It's just right down here."

Lorelai began to walk off. "Hey…" Luke called. Lorelai turned back around. "It was nice meeting you, Lorelai." He gathered his books back up from the floor and headed down the hallway. Lorelai turned back to Sookie and tried desperately to keep from smiling. But Sookie had already caught on.


	23. It's Only Love

"These will be your classes. You're 7 weeks behind, so if you can't catch up with all of the other students let us know and we'll change your schedule." The woman replied as she handed Lorelai her papers.

Lorelai reviewed the classes. "English Literature, Algebra 2, American History, Biology, P.E, and Spanish I. Hmm… interesting."

"Oh, let's see if you have any classes with me." Sookie took the paper from Lorelai and quickly scanned it. "Alright, we have P.E, Algebra 2, and Biology together."

Lorelai frowned. "Sookie, I've already taken Algebra 2… and Biology… and American History."

"How? You're a freshman." Sookie replied.

Great, now Lorelai was going to have to tell Sookie where she really came from. Lorelai was afraid that if Sookie found out that she was from a private school in Hartford, she wouldn't want to hang out anymore. Lorelai decided to just give the most simple explanation possible.

"My old school pressured us pretty hard…" Lorelai replied. "I took all those classes last year."

"Oh." Sookie's voice was full of disappoint me. "I guess you'll have to get your schedule changed then."

Lorelai knew she probably shouldn't but at that moment Sookie, friends, and being happy seemed much more important than being in advanced classes. "Actually, I'm kind of glad that this happened. I never caught on in Algebra 2 and Biology was way over my head… and I think I slept through most of History class. So, it would be best for me to retake these classes."

"Are you sure?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, Joan won't, I mean my mom, won't mind if I retake them. It'll give me a chance to make better grades."

"You call your mom by her first name?"

Lorelai was hoping Sookie wouldn't call attention to her slip up. "Sometimes, it's just an old habit." Lorelai smiled.

"That's cool, I wish my mom was chilled out enough to let me call her by her first name." Sookie looked at the clock. "It's almost time for first period, come on I'll show where your locker is then we can go to gym."

"Gym … first thing in the morning." Lorelai said to herself. "Great."

Lorelai's first four classes went by effortlessly. She had pretty much guaranteed herself a 4.0 this year. When twelve o'clock rolled around, she was looking forward to eating lunch, she had been starving all morning.

"Okay…" Sookie began. "Here's the basics. Cheerleaders sit over there. Football, basketball, and baseball players always sit at those three tables. In the far corner you have the nerds and geeks. In the other corner, social outcasts, bullies, and wannabes. And finally, you have the preps, the super popular, and the theater kids at these six tables."

"Where do you fit in to all of this?" Lorelai asked.

"We like to call ourselves "the norms". Sookie answered.

"Not highly popular, but not freakishly unpopular." Jackson added.

Lorelai nodded her head. "Sufficient." She replied.

"Exactly." Jackson agreed.

"Don't worry, you'll like sitting with our group." Sookie assured.

They set their trays over on the table and took their seats. Sookie introduced her to the five people sitting at the table. Miranda, Nick, Matthew, Bridgette, and Savannah. Lorelai looked around, hoping to spot Luke. She had kept him on her mind the entire morning.

"So…." Lorelai said indirectly. "Where does Luke usually sit? With the footballers?"

Jackson laughed. "Luke Danes? He's not a football player. He runs track."

"He could be a football player." Matt replied. "He'd make an excellent wide receiver."

"And take a chance on injuring his legs?" Nick butted in. "That's crazy, Luke's going to get a scholarship to a university. He can't take stupid chances on football."

"How do you know that?" Miranda asked. "Luke never talks to you."

"I just heard it around, is all." Nick replied. "And besides, Luke and I talk every now and then."

Savannah laughed. "Sorry Nick but, 'Hey kid can you pass me that water bottle.' Doesn't count."

"Luke has the second lunch." Sookie finally answered Lorelai. "He's a junior. Juniors and seniors eat lunch at 12:30."

"Let me guess, she has the hots for Luke." Jackson smirked.

"What girl doesn't?" Bridgette's eyes brightened. "He's the most popular guy in school."

"Not hardly." Jackson retorted. "Joey Sammons is starting to get very popular. And so is John Stevens."

"Only because the football team has been on a huge winning streak." Matt countered. "Wait till we start losing again, Joey and John will go back to being no bodies."

"Luke's definitely the most popular guy in school when it comes to girls." Bridgette persisted.

Jackson looked back at Lorelai. "I wouldn't waste my time if I were you, Lorelai. Luke's not much for steady dating. He barely sticks with a girl long enough to get her phone number."

"Jackson, that's a horrible thing to say." Sookie scowled. "I think Luke and Lorelai would make a great couple."

"Luke's a junior." Nick added. "No offense Lorelai, but Luke is out of your league. He only dates junior cheerleaders."

"Not true…" Sookie broke in. "He dated Felicia Romans. She was a year younger than him and wasn't a cheerleader."

"Okay, so it happened _one_ time." Jackson rolled his eyes.

Lorelai was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She wished she hadn't of even brought up Luke's name.

"Luke is not out of Lorelai's league." Sookie forcefully stated. "They shared a moment together in the hallway this morning." Sookie quickly covered her mouth.

Embarrassment covered Lorelai's face.

"Wooo…." Matt taunted. "Well, well, well…"

"Is that so?" Jackson asked.

"Way to go, Lorelai!" Bridgette added.

"Talk about a quick popularity boost." Miranda smiled. "New girl bags Luke Danes."

"Oh, Lorelai… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, it just slipped out." Sookie gave Lorelai a sympathetic look.

"It's okay." Lorelai managed to say. "No big deal."

"Well, hey, it's nothing be embarrassed about." Nick said as he opened his can of soda. "If Luke likes you, then everyone is going to like you."

"Heck, I wish he liked me." Savannah huffed.

"Hello, remember me? Your boyfriend." Matt asked. "I'm sitting right in front of you."

"Matty, for Luke Danes, you wouldn't stand a chance." Nick laughed. "Savannah would leave you sitting in the dirt."

Matt gazed up at Lorelai. "I hope you snatch him quick." Matt replied. "That way Savannah doesn't get any crazy ideas."

Lorelai glanced over at the clock. It was only 12:10. This was going to be the longest thirty minute lunch break of her life.


	24. This Boy

The bell for sixth period rang, and Lorelai still had not found Spanish class. She sighed for she knew she was going to be late. Suddenly, as the hallway cleared, she saw Luke walking towards her.

"Hey, Lorelai." Luke greeted. "Having trouble finding a class?"

Lorelai gazed down at her Spanish book. "Yeah…" she replied. "Spanish… Mrs. Walker."

"Room 132." Luke replied. "That's where I'm headed."

"You have Spanish this period?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled. "I put it off my ninth and tenth grade year so I could take a weight lifting class. So, I'm taking it this year."

"Oh…" Lorelai managed to reply as they walked down the hallway.

"So, where are you from?"

"Hartford."

"Oh, city girl." Luke teased.

"Not hardly. I'm much happier here." Lorelai replied.

"That's good." Luke answered. "Stars Hollow is a great town." They stopped. "Here we are, room 132."

The door opened and Lorelai beheld an entire room full of students all with their eyes on her and Luke.

"Hey, Mrs. Walker." Luke began. "Sorry, that I'm late. This is Lorelai, she's a new student. She was having trouble finding your class, so I brought her with me."

"That was very kind of you, Mr. Danes." Mrs. Walker replied. "You may take your seat. Lorelai, you may sit wherever you'd like, just pick an empty seat."

Lorelai gazed around the room. There were only three empty seats in the entire class. One by the window, one by Mrs. Walker's desk, and one right in front of Luke. Lorelai decided she'd be better off taking the one by the window.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Mrs. Walker said loudly. "That's Mona's seat. She's not here today. The other two are free, however."

Lorelai turned back around. Her eyes met with Luke's. He patted the back of the seat in front of him. At first Lorelai was a bit hesitant, but realizing that she was standing for too long, she dashed into the seat. A few whispers went flying through the room and a couple of snickers were audible. Lorelai had no doubt they all pertained to her.

After Spanish had ended. Lorelai gathered her books. Luke stood from his desk and waited till the girl turned around.

"You never told me your last name." Luke said as he slipped his letterman jacket on.

"Gilmore." Lorelai replied.

"Well, Lorelai Gilmore… I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening." He walked by her and strolled out the door.

Lorelai felt a warm sensation run through her blood stream. She kept telling herself to let it go, that she shouldn't even be worried about Luke, but it was a losing battle. She walked down the hall towards the exit doors.

"Lorelai!" Sookie called. "Wait up!"

Lorelai turned around. "Hey, Sookie."

"Look, I just wanted to apologize again for what happened today at lunch."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Lorelai brushed off. "I know it was an accident."

"Lorelai… I have to warn you about something." Sookie said seriously as she walked beside Lorelai.

"Okay… what?"

"I just heard that Luke walked you to Spanish class."

Lorelai laughed. "How could you have already heard that? It just happened an hour ago."

"News travels very, very fast in this school. This whole town actually. Lorelai, you're already the talk of Stars Hollow High. Everyone knows that you and Luke have a thing."

"Sookie, I just met him. We don't have a _thing_…"

"You sat in front of him in Spanish."

"Wow, news is lightening quick around here. There were only two seats available and he kind of … well… he kind of asked me to sit in front of him. I mean he didn't come right out with _words_ and ask me, he just … patted the desk."

"Oh, that's smooth." Sookie grinned. "Aw, this is so sweet."

"Sookie, please…" Lorelai replied. "Don't make a bigger deal out of this than it actually is."

"Aw, but you could be the one." Sookie said bright eyed. "The one to tame Luke Danes. The one to stay with him for longer than two weeks."

"What makes you think that I want to be the one to do that?" Lorelai asked as they descended the steps.

"I think it's your destiny." Sookie replied.

"Shouldn't you be sitting behind a crystal ball when you say that?" Lorelai asked. She looked up and saw Joan standing by the gate. "Hey, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye, Lorelai." Sookie took off down the opposite side of the street and caught up with Jackson and Kirk.

"Hey you." Joan smiled. "I'm dying to hear all about your first day. Leave out nothing."

"Well, to sum it all up, I've mad friends with this girl named Sookie, who introduced me to a bunch of other people. I bumped into this guy named Luke, who apparently is very popular, and now everyone says Luke and I have a thing."

Joan stopped. "You have a thing with a guy?"

"No…" Lorelai quickly replied. "That's what I keep telling everyone, but they keep insisting that I do. The new slogan around the school is _"New girl bags Luke Danes." _

Joan laughed. "Well, a little teasing every now and then can be a good thing. Don't let them think they are upsetting you. Play along with them. That always worked for me."

"Oh, and this one guy, he's a total geek, he told me I had very pretty eyes."

"Can't say that I disagree." Joan replied. "Did you thank him?"

"I did." Lorelai nodded. "And I told him he had nice hair."

"The perfect return compliment. Sounds like your day has been just fine."

"Yeah, it has. I do have to complain about one thing though."

"What's that?" Joan asked as they walked up the sidewalk to their town house.

"Gym class at 8:00 am."

Joan frowned. "You poor thing…"

They both laughed as they walked through the door. Lorelai threw her book bag down by the tv and immediately hopped on the couch. Joan walked into their tiny kitchen.

"What would you like for diner?" Joan asked.

"Whatever." Lorelai answered.

"Oh, well I'm glad I took the time to ask."

"Can we order out again?" Lorelai peaked her head over the couch.

"Again? We've ordered out the last two nights."

"So, what's the point in cooking? There's only two of us."

"Habit I supposed." Joan replied. "I cooked every day for fourteen years in Hartford."

"Well, we have fourteen years of ordering out to make up for." Lorelai smiled. "Come on, you know you'd rather just pick up the phone and dial a number than cook and do dishes."

Joan sighed. "Alright… but this time we're ordering Chinese food."

"You won't hear any complaining out of me." Lorelai grabbed the phone and handed it to Joan.


	25. Things We Say Today

Lorelai stuffed another egg role into her mouth.

"Lorelai, if you eat one more egg role, I honestly believe you'll become Chinese." Joan teased.

"Well, I guess we'll never know, cause I just ate the last one." Lorelai held up the empty box.

"Want to help do dishes?" Joan asked as she gathered up all the empty containers from the table.

"Sure." Lorelai replied.

The girls opened the trash and threw the containers inside. Lorelai shut the lid. "That has to be the best way to do dishes, ever."

"I agree." Joan replied as she wiped off the table. "Maybe you were right about the ordering out every night; however, I think we should at least have a home cooked meal every few nights. It would be healthier. Plus, I can make sure I don't get rusty with my cooking skills."

"I'll never be domestic." Lorelai replied as she headed into the living room.

Joan came into the living room behind her. "And why do you say that?"

"Cooking, cleaning, being the perfect wife and mother … you know pearls around my neck and my hair flipped out… that's not me."

"Hmm. I bet you're not a June Cleaver fan." Joan smirked as she sat down on the couch beside Lorelai.

"Hey, it works for some people." Lorelai replied. "I'm just not one of them. Besides, it's not 1957 anymore."

"True…" Joan replied. "Can't argue with the bustling changes of society."

"Hey, Joan…" Lorelai's sudden change in tone signaled that she was about to change the subject to something much more serious. "I know I've only been here for a week, but it's been the best week of my life."

A gigantic smile streaked across Joan's face. "Same here, kiddo."

"I was kind of afraid at first."

"Afraid of what?" Joan positioned herself on the couch to where her and Lorelai were face to face.

"That it wouldn't work out. Maybe you would change your mind and decide you didn't want me anymore. Or that my dad would try to take me back."

"Lorelai, you don't have to worry about any of that."

"I know that now." Lorelai smiled. "If the rest of my life is anything like this past week has been, then I know I'll be the luckiest person in the world. I've been given a chance to start completely over. A new school, a new home, a new life."

"Aw, sweetheart, it's so wonderful to hear you say that."

Lorelai smiled, this conversation was going really well. She decided now would be the best time to say exactly what was on her mind. "Today at school, I was talking to Sookie about my schedule. I called you Joan. I didn't want Sookie to find out about my life yet, you know with you and then my adoptive parents, so I kind of brushed it off like I called you by your first name."

"So, Sookie thinks you just have this awesomely hip mother who allows you call her both mom and by her first name?" Joan asked, just to make sure she understood.

"Exactly." Lorelai said relieved that she had got the point across. "It's not that I'm embarrassed or anything, I'm honestly not… I just didn't know how you feel about it."

"About?"

"Well, calling you Joan or..." Lorelai couldn't finish. The word just couldn't come out of her mouth.

"Mom?" Joan finished the sentence for her. Lorelai nodded her head. "Lorelai, you can call me anything that you want." Joan's voice was sincere and warm. "I know that you've known me as Joan for 14 years. I don't expect you to think of me as anyone else, unless you want to."

"I'd like to call you mom." Lorelai replied softly. "But it feels so strange. I've not called anyone mom in three years. But I don't just see you as Joan anymore. You _are _my mother, so technically the word mom couldn't be used more correctly. But then I think of the mother I knew for eleven years, and it doesn't seem right. It's just really confusing."

"Hey, give it some time." Joan smiled. "You'll realize what feels right soon. And whatever you choose, I'll be happy."

Lorelai sighed. "I guess so."

Joan grabbed a pillow and placed it on her lap. "Come on." She patted the pillow. "Let's watch some tv." Lorelai stretched out across the couch, and laid her head on the pillow. "Maybe Leave It To Beaver is on." Joan teased, as she turned on the television set.

"I think Nick at Night in general would suffice." Lorelai yawned.

Joan took the quilt off the back of the couch and spread it over Lorelai. Lorelai smiled as she felt Joan's hand gently begin to play with her hair. These were the moments that she was the most thankful for Joan.

The next day at school Lorelai noticed that no one had forgotten about her. As she walked up the pathway to the doors, dozens of eyes fell upon her and refused to look away.

"Hey." Sookie greeted with her usual cheeriness.

"Hey." Lorelai replied. "Am I imagining this, or is everyone staring at me?"

"Everyone is definitely staring." Sookie confirmed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but there's a rumor going around that Luke likes you."

"What?" Lorelai asked, trying to keep her voice under control and show no significant signs of emotion.

Sookie became giddy. "Well, apparently he told a couple of guys on the track team that he's into you!" Sookie shook her head. "Do you know how many girls are going to envy you now?"

"Sookie, you really shouldn't pay so much attention to gossip." Lorelai replied. "Not everything you hear is true."

Suddenly, Lorelai felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Hey." A male voice replied.

Lorelai turned around right as she reached the steps to the school doors. "Hi." Lorelai replied mostly from shock as she saw Luke standing in front of her.

Luke looked around and also noticed everyone was staring. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure." Lorelai handed Sookie her books. "I'll be right back." Lorelai replied to Sookie. Sookie smiled and winked back at Lorelai.

Luke and Lorelai walked over to the side of the school building, but still not far enough to escape the curious eyes of the Stars Hollow teens.

Luke stuck his hands in his pocket. "Look, Lorelai, I think you're a really nice girl. And very pretty too." He quickly added.

"Thanks." Lorelai replied, her face obviously becoming red.

Luke looked away for a minute. "But, I just don't want you to get the wrong idea, you know?"

"Wrong idea?"

"About us… _me._" Luke stammered. "What I'm trying to say is… well, you're a freshman. I'm a junior. It'd just never work out. You're still a kid."

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked, although she pretty much had the picture together by now.

"We can _always_ be friends." Luke smiled. "And who knows, maybe in a couple of years…"

"Are you trying to tell me that you'll never go out with me?" Lorelai asked, her voice quick and sharp.

"Well, not _never." _ Luke replied. "You know, just not now."

Lorelai let out a small laugh. "What gave you the idea that I wanted to go out with you?"

Luke's face turned red. Embarrassment was quickly overcoming him. "Well, come on, it's obvious."

"Really?" Lorelai asked. "Well, that's a quite perception you have."

"Look, I don't know why you're getting upset. I'd totally go out with you in a couple of years. You should be considering this an honor."

"An _honor_? You really think you're something, don't you?" Lorelai folded her arms. "You assume that I'm going to be head over heals in love with you, just because you're some big shot on campus? Because you can run fast?" One of Lorelai's eyebrows raised. "It's probably a good thing that you can run fast, Luke Danes, you'll be needing all that extra speed to outrun future alimony and child support collectors." She finished smoothly.

A loud burst of "Ohhhh!" flew across the school grounds. Obviously, Lorelai's reply had been heard by more than just Luke.

"Hey!" Luke said in defense.

"How dare you try to make me feel unworthy to you." Lorelai continued. "You're a real jerk."

She quickly turned and walked back to a stunned Sookie. She grabbed her books and walked straight up the steps, not taking a second glance in Luke's direction. Laughter began to break out around the campus. Luke lowered his head and stomped away. That was the first time Luke Danes had ever been knocked of his pedestal.


	26. Think For Yourself

Lorelai walked into the cafeteria. Everyone immediately noticed her. She was becoming tired of the spotlight always shinning on her, but this time she had to admit she asked for it.

"Hey… great burn!" A random guy replied as he walked by.

"Yeah, you totally scolded Danes today." Another boy added.

"I bet his big head bubble burst into a thousand pieces."

Lorelai sighed. Though she enjoyed giving Luke what he had coming, she wished that she hadn't of been so public about it. She set her trey down at the "norms" table.

"Wow… there she is folks." Jackson replied. "A legend in the making. And sitting at _our_ table."

"Jackson, lay off." Sookie replied.

"Aw, come on, she ought to be dancing with pride. She's going to become more popular than Luke now." Jackson smiled.

"Now she'll be the "new girl who busted Luke Danes." Miranda added.

"Until everyone figures out her real name." Matt said. "Then she'll be the infamous Lorelai Gilmore."

"Hey, Lorelai, don't feel bad. Luke deserved what you gave him this morning." Savannah smiled. "He's obviously letting his popularity go to his head. It's a good thing that someone has shown him that he's not as invincible as he believes."

"So, you're all ready to turn on him? You were just telling me how great he was yesterday." Lorelai replied.

"It sounds shady." Jackson replied. "But that's high school."

Nick laughed. "Yep. One day you're the most popular guy in school and everyone loves you…"

"Then you're the guy who totally got schooled by the new girl, and everyone's ready to make fun of you." Matt finished.

"It makes high school sound like survival of the fittest." Lorelai confirmed.

"Sweetie…" Bridgette smiled. "That's exactly what high school is."

"But hey, you have college to look forward to." Miranda replied. "No one pays attention to anyone there."

"I think I'll go outside for the rest of lunch." Lorelai stood from the table and emptied her trey. She walked outside the cafeteria and out by the benches. She pulled a book out of her back pack and began reading as she made herself comfortable on wooden seats. This was something Lorelai had hoped would become more seldom. She felt as if reading books by herself during lunch was resorting back to the quite, friendless, Lorelai who had nothing better to do, or no one to speak with. She was just about finished with her first paragraph when she felt the weight of someone else on her bench. She lowered her book.

"Hey." Sookie replied. "What are you reading?"

"To Kill A Mockingbird." Lorelai answered. She slowly shut her novel. "Did you come all the way out here to ask me that?"

"No… I came out here because I thought you might like to talk about what happened. I know everyone thinks you're a Goddess now, but I can tell, you're not happy with what you've done."

Lorelai smiled. "You should be a psychologist… or a social worker."

"You did like him…. Didn't you."

Slowly, Lorelai nodded her head. "Yeah… I did." She replied softly. "It's a good thing I never let it go too far, huh? It really would have been embarrassing then."

"I'm sure I didn't help." Sookie replied. "I shouldn't have listened to all the gossip, like you said."

"It's okay… You didn't know what was going to happen."

"Sure was something seeing you tell Luke off like that, though." Sookie's smile returned. "How'd you come up with such a quick burn?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't even have to think about it. It just came out. Usually, I try to avoid saying things like that, my parents always considered it rude and ill mannered."

"Really? Hmm, I would have figured anyone who was cool enough to let their daughter call them by their first name would be cool enough to appreciate quick come backs."

"Sookie…" Lorelai paused. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Well, yeah… I just met you yesterday." Sookie replied.

Lorelai let out a deep breath. "My family… it's not like the traditional family."

"How so?"

"Well, it's kind of a lot to explain. I just found out most of it a few months ago."

Sookie held up her hand. "Hey, you don't have to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable."

"I'd like to tell you sometime." Lorelai smiled. "If you're willing to listen."

"Sure, I'm willing." Sookie returned. "You could come over to my house this weekend if you'd like. We could sit up all night long and talk."

Lorelai had never been invited to stay over at someone's house before. She immediately said yes without evening giving it a second thought. The lunch bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Lorelai grabbed her book bag from the ground and walked back into the school with Sookie.

Finally, it came. The class that Lorelai had been dreading all day. Spanish. She knew that she had picked the seat in front of Luke yesterday, and now she was regretting it more than anything. She walked into the room, and was instantly relieved to see that Luke wasn't in his seat. She wouldn't feel completely safe however, until the tardy bell had rang and she was guaranteed he wasn't going to show up.

"Hey, Gilmore…" A boy leaned over to Lorelai's desk. "If you're looking for a man to treat you right, I'd be more than happy to fill those shoes." He smiled.

"No thanks." Lorelai replied.

"Aw, come on. I don't mind you being a freshman." The boy continued. "I'm not like Luke, I actually care about girls."

"Sorry, I'm not interested."

The boy huffed. "What are you, like a lesbo or something?" Laughter quickly burst out around the classroom. "Are you not into guys?"

Lorelai lowered her head and looked down at her desk.

"What, no snippy come back for me?" The boy asked.

"Go to hell." Lorelai replied.

"Oh, how original." The boy smiled. "I'll never battle you in a game of wits again. Believe me, I've learned my lesson."

Suddenly, another boy came up beside Lorelai. He grabbed the first guy by the shirt. "Beat it, Brad." He growled.

"Hey, Chris, man… lighten up."

"You know what I've always heard?" Chris began. "People who accuse others of being gay, are usually trying to cover up their own homosexual tendencies."

Brad scowled at Chris.

"You should apologize." Chris stated.

"You're crazy. I'm not apologizing to her." Brad glanced down at Lorelai.

Chris shoved Brad up against the wall. "Apologize!"

"Okay! Okay!" Brad yelled. "I'm sorry!"

Chris released the boy. He straightened his shirt and quickly took his seat.

Mrs. Walker walked into the classroom as all the excitement had ended. "Alright everyone, take your seat. Open your books to chapter 7. Today we are going to learn how to ask for directions and give directions."

Lorelai glanced over at the brown haired boy who had stood up for her. She wanted to thank him, but after seeing how everyone else acted in this school, she assumed he had taken up for her just to gain some attention. 45 minutes was too long to wait for this horrible day to be over.


	27. I'm Talking About You

As soon as the bell rang, Lorelai bolted from her seat. Chris chased after the young girl.

"Hey, wait!"

Lorelai turned around. "If you're looking for a thank you kiss… or a date… or any other type of ridiculous prize for your act of bravery, you can forget it." Lorelai returned to walking down the hallway.

Chris ran after her again. "I don't want any of those." He called. "Could you please just slow down?"

Lorelai stopped. She looked him square in the eyes. "I don't need you to stick up for me."

"I was just trying to help. He was being a real jerk."

"All the guys in this school are real jerks." Lorelai replied.

Chris shook his head. "You're right, they are."

"I have to go home now."

Chris stepped in front of her. "I'm sorry if I made things worse."

"You didn't." Lorelai replied. "It's been a very bad day. I just want to go home and forget about everyone in this school." Lorelai paused. "Thank you for getting that guy off my back."

"No problem." Chris said as he stepped out of her way. "By the way, I'm Chris."

Lorelai nodded her head. "Okay. Bye Chris."

Lorelai hurried home. She went directly to her bedroom and shut the door. She didn't want to speak to anyone, or see anyone. She just wanted to be alone for a while, and try to figure out what was going on. Adjusting to high school is bad enough as it is, but throw a girl who's been to private schools her whole life and just found out she was adopted into the mix and it's a guaranteed heartbreak.

Lorelai was laying on her bed when she heard the front door open. Joan must be home. She would never go to Joan with her problem, but she would secretly hope that Joan would come to her and ask about it. Several minutes passed, and Lorelai was about to give up hope of Joan coming to her rescue. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Lorelai? Are you in there?"

"Yes." Lorelai replied, barely loud enough to be heard through the door.

Joan opened the door and walked in. "Have you been here this whole time? It's only 3:10."

"I came straight home from school." Lorelai replied gloomily.

"I can see that." Joan walked further into Lorelai's room and took a seat on her bed. "Are you okay?"

"I will be soon enough, I suppose."

"Well, that's not a very good answer. Did something happen at school?"

Lorelai inhaled deeply as she let a couple of tears escape her eyes. "Everyone there is so mean. Except for Sookie." Lorelai added. "She's the only one who actually cares about people. Everyone else just looks for trouble."

"Sweetheart, is someone bullying you?" Joan asked.

"No…"

"Are you having trouble making new friends?"

Lorelai huffed. "No… everyone wants to be my friend."

"I don't understand." Joan replied. "What's the problem?"

"That's the problem. Everyone wants to be my friend, but it's all for the wrong reasons. They don't really care about me, they just care about being popular."

"And why would being friends with you, make them more popular?" Joan asked stepping closer to the true problem.

Lorelai sniffled. "Because at first I was the new girl who was going to bag Luke Danes, but this morning I became the girl who put Luke Danes in his place."

"What did you say, Lorelai?" Joan asked almost regretfully.

"He tried to humiliate me." Lorelai replied. "In front of everyone. He told me I was too young for him, but that in a couple of years he'd give me a chance. Then he said I should consider it an honor that he's taking an interest in me."

Joan rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever you told him, he had it coming."

"He runs track, and he's really popular, so I told him that he'd need all his extra speed to outrun future alimony and child support collectors." Lorelai sniffled again.

"Lorelai…" Joan replied with a half laugh and a half scold.

"I feel horrible that I said it, but he shouldn't have tried to embarrass me in front of everyone."

"So, you embarrassed him in front of everyone instead."

"Then, all day long everyone acted like they were so happy that I told him off, but yesterday he was their King." Lorelai paused. "Now, there's been a bunch of guys try to get me to go out with them and they keep saying horrible things."

"Like what?" Joan suddenly became more concerned.

"When I told this one guy that I wasn't interested, he asked me if I was a lesbian."

Joan's mouth nearly hit the floor. "He what! Where was the teacher during all of this?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Some guy named Chris came over and threw him up against the wall, and then made him apologize to me."

Joan could not believe her ears, never had any of her high school days been so bizarre.

Lorelai rose from her bed and wrapped her arms around Joan. "Today has been so miserable."

"Oh, sweetie, there'll be days like this. Well, maybe not exactly like this. It sounds like you've had a very unusual day." Joan hugged Lorelai. "If you want me to come to school tomorrow and talk to the principal, I will."

"No." Lorelai replied. "That would only add fuel to the fire."

"Lorelai, harassment is a serious issue. Promise me you won't let it go too far. I want you to tell me if this continues." Lorelai gently nodded her head in agreement. "Okay… good." Joan kissed Lorelai on the top of the head. "Now, what would you like to order for tonight's diner?"

Lorelai smiled. "How about cheeseburgers?"

Joan sighed. "Something told me you wasn't going to say a salad."

"We could get lettuce and tomatoes on the cheeseburgers."

"Oh, yes, that would make it all better." Joan laughed. "Do you have any homework?"

"A little."

"Well, go ahead and get started. I'll call in the food."

That night, Lorelai fell asleep early. Joan came into her bedroom to find her asleep with one of her novels covering her face. Joan removed the book and switched off the bed light. A few hours later, Joan was awaken from a deep sleep.

"Mommy!" Lorelai yelled. "Mommy!"

Joan jerked up from her bed and rushed into Lorelai's room.

"Mommy!"

Joan realized Lorelai was still asleep, and obviously having a nightmare.

"Lorelai…" Joan grabbed her arms. "Lorelai, wake up!" Lorelai's eyes quickly opened. "It's okay… it was just a dream." Joan soothed.

Lorelai had broken into a fierce sweat and her breathing was heavy. She gazed up at Joan for a moment and then rose up to hug her.

"Shh…" Joan replied to the girl's cries. "I'm right here." She slowly rubbed Lorelai's back.

Lorelai's crying subsided and she pulled way from Joan's grasp. "I'm sorry for waking you." Lorelai whispered through the dark.

Joan cupped her hand around Lorelai's face. "Don't worry about that. Are you okay?"

Lorelai shook her head.

"Sounds like it was a pretty bad dream. Was it about Emily?" Joan asked.

"No. It was about you."

"Me?" Joan asked in complete surprise.

"We were sitting in the living room watching tv. Someone knocked at the door, you went to answer it and it was some man in a black coat. He knocked you down and then came inside after me. He grabbed me and tried to leave with me. He said that he was taking me back to where I belonged. You tried to stop him….Then he shot you…" Lorelai's eyes became full of tears again. "You feel to the ground. He shoved me into some car and started to drive away. Then you woke me up."

Joan's own eyes were beginning to water. "Sweetheart, nothing like that will ever happen." She reassured. "No one is going to take you away. This is were you belong."

Lorelai's eyes were red and puffy. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Sure, if that will make you feel better." Joan replied. "Come on." Joan lead Lorelai out of her room and into the one across the hall. They both climbed into bed.

"I hope I don't have another nightmare." Lorelai said as she pulled the covers over herself.

"If you do, I'll be right here." Joan placed her arm around Lorelai. "I'm not going anywhere."


	28. Come Together

"Hey, it's time to get up." Joan whispered softly.

Lorelai groaned a little and slowly opened her eyes. "Do I have to go to school today?" she mumbled.

"Lorelai, missing school isn't the answer to anything." Joan replied as she pulled the covers off Lorelai's body. "You have to face your problems head on."

"Nice pep talk." Lorelai replied as she groggily rose from the bed. She immediately noticed that Joan was dressed in her business clothes. "Why are you all dressed up?"

"I have an interview this morning." Joan smiled.

"For a job?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, of course. What else?" Joan fastened her earrings.

"Where?"

"Just an office nearby." Joan replied. "They're looking for someone to take calls, file papers, you know the usual office stuff."

"How do you know anything about office stuff?" Lorelai stepped out of the bed.

"I don't really, but I'm sure I can catch on. The paper said no experience necessary."

Lorelai grumbled. "Why are you even worried about a job?"

"Sweetheart, I have to work. It took most of my savings to move into this apartment, and start our life together. Don't worry, I'll be working the same hours as you're at school, providing I get the job. There, I'm ready. How do I look?" Joan asked as she twirled around.

"You look… professional." Lorelai replied as she walked out of the bedroom.

"Hey…" Joan called. "You should wish me good luck!"

"Good luck!" Lorelai replied as she made her way to the bathroom.

Lorelai quickly hurried up the steps to the school. She was running late, and feared she was going to be tardy for class. As her room came into view, she heard the tardy bell ring and the classroom door slowly shut.

"Crap!" Lorelai replied. She let out a long aggravated sigh and opened the classroom door.

"Mrs. Gilmore, you're late." The teacher replied.

"I'm sorry Mr. Theo."

"I'm afraid sorry doesn't make things any better. You'll have to report to lunch detention."

Lorelai's eyes bulged. "Lunch detention?"

"Yes, that's what I said. Now take your seat."

"Mr. Theo, please, can I be excused this one time? I promise it will never happen again."

"Mrs. Gilmore, you're not an exception. Now, please, sit down."

Later that day, when lunch arrived, Lorelai had began to look at the brighter side of things. At least she wouldn't be around a lot of people, and she wouldn't have to worry about anyone asking her any ridiculous questions. As she walked into the detention hall room, she was surprised to see only one other person in the room.

"Hey." Chris smiled. "Didn't expect to see you in here."

"I was late for class." Lorelai replied as she took a seat.

"Oh, let me guess, Mr. Theo?"

"Yeah." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I figured. He's the only teacher that still gives d-hall for being late. Most of the other teachers around here are pretty cool about it."

"So, what did you do to deserve this?" Lorelai asked.

"More like what didn't I do." Chris retorted. "I'm always in here for something. This time, it was because of yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

Chris laughed. "Yeah, when I slammed Brad up against the wall. Apparently, he told the principal after school. That pansy." Chris leaned back in his chair. "Principal Abrams asked me this morning if I had been harassing any of the students. I knew he meant Brad, so I saved us both time and plead guilty."

"How noble."

"Well, I try." There was silence between them for few moments, then Chris decided to break it. "So, what's your story?"

"My story?" Lorelai repeated.

"Yeah, where you from? Why are you here? When are you planning your escape?"

"Hartford. Too complicated. And I'm not." Lorelai replied.

"Not much of a talker are yah?"

"Not lately." Lorelai answered honestly.

"It's cool. Seems like you've had a couple bad days this week."

"You don't know the half of it."

"You know, I'm from Hartford too." Chris replied. "I used to go to a private school. Maybe you've heard of it? It was called Bennington."

Lorelai was shocked. "You went to Bennington?"

"From 1st grade to 8th. I got kicked out last year." Chris replied with a smirk. "I toilet papered the headmaster's house."

"I went to Stratton Academy." Lorelai remarked.

"You're a private school girl?" Chris asked in complete surprise. "No way."

"Well, you don't exactly seem like someone who went to private school either." Lorelai countered. "Why did you come to Stars Hollow? Why didn't you just attend a public school in Hartford?"

"I'm staying with my aunt for now. She's actually pretty cool. She lets me do basically whatever I want, as long as I'm home by 11:00."

"11:00?" Lorelai was impressed. "Wow."

"What's your curfew?"

"I don't know." Lorelai let out a small laugh. "I don't think I have one."

"That's awesome." Chris nodded. "Hey, about yesterday, when I took up for you… I just want to make it clear that I wasn't trying to impress you, or get you to go out with me, or anything like that."

"I know." Lorelai brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry for being so rude. I'm not always like that."

"I didn't think that you were." Chris stated. "I heard about what happened with Luke. It sucks that he tried to humiliate you like that. When I saw Brad doing the same thing, and when he called you a … well, you know… I just kind of lost my temper I suppose. One thing that I've always been taught is to honor the respect of a lady."

"Now I believe you went to a private school." Lorelai replied.

Principal Abrams walked into the d-hall room. "Alright, your detention time is over. You may go eat now."

Lorelai and Chris stood from their chairs. "I didn't know detention only lasted ten minutes. I thought I was going to get to avoid seeing everyone today… I guess not." Lorelai replied.

"Yeah, everyone sure has taken a notice to you."

"Tell me about it." Lorelai moaned.

"You could eat lunch with me if you want." Chris offered. "I usually eat outside. No one ever eats out there, so it's pretty secluded. You wouldn't have to see a lot of people."

Lorelai thought about it for a moment. "Sure, sounds better than sitting with the norms."

"Alright, let's go." Chris replied.

With ten minutes left of lunch, Chris and Lorelai sat down at one of the outside tables. Lorelai picked around at her food, while Chris began to shovel his into his mouth.

"Don't like spaghetti?" Chris asked between bites.

"Oh, so that's what this is."

"Aw, it's not that bad. Take a bite."

"I'll pass." Lorelai replied. She grabbed her dinner role and tore off a small piece.

"My mom's spaghetti is awesome." Chris replied. "I could eat a truck load of it."

"I bet it's not any better than my mom's." Lorelai replied as if it were a competition.

"Oh yeah?" Chris teased. "Well, I'll just have to try it sometime and compare the two. Which I'm sure there's no contest."

Lorelai's playful side was beginning to show. "Fine, come over tomorrow after school and see for yourself."

"Okay." Chris declared. "It's a date."

Lorelai's smile quickly faded as she heard the word date and realized what she had just set herself up for. Not only had she just invited a boy over to her house, but she had done it with out consulting Joan first, and furthermore if she remembered correctly, she had just called Joan her mom. Lorelai thought to herself. "_Open mouth, insert foot."_

_A/N: Just wanted to say I know this was a boring chapter. I know a lot of you also are not Chris fans. I'm sorry that this was a Chris chapter. For those of you seeking more Joan and Lorelai interaction I promise it is coming! I am setting everything up. Please be patient and just keep reading. And don't worry, Chris is only a tool in my story, he won't be a major character much longer. Now then, send out those reviews so I can get motivated for another chapter. _


	29. I Should Have Known Better

_A/N: Seems like I am making a lot of these again, lol. Anyway, I'm sorry that my updates have been slow these past few days. I've actually had a new chapter ready for several days, but has not been allowing me to submit new documents. It's been driving me crazy! Also, I am currently training for a new job and it is taking up a lot of my free time. My fastest and greatest updates will probably be during the weekends for the next couple of weeks. I'll keep trying to update as much as possible. Thanks for your patience and all the wonderful reviews. And now, chapter 29. _

"So I walked into the office and told them I had no experience but that I was great with people, a quick learner, and in desperate need of the job. They pretty much hired me on the spot. I couldn't believe how nice they were." Joan realized Lorelai wasn't even paying attention. "Lorelai, you seem distracted tonight." Joan replied as she took a bite of pizza.

"I'm sorry." Lorelai replied as she tossed her pizza down inside the box.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Lorelai let out a sigh. "Have you ever been really confused but you kind of do something without thinking?" Joan gave Lorelai a look that clearly replied she didn't understand. "I mean, have you ever been in mulling over something and then right out of the blue just make a decision? But you can't understand why you did it."

"Lorelai, why don't you tell me what's actually going on." Joan suggested. "I could probably help more."

"Well, I've been thinking about a lot of stuff. Friends, you, school, and my old life. I'm trying to figure out how I want to tell people about myself and what kind of impression I want to make."

"That's a lot for a fourteen year old girl to worry about."

"Today, I got lunch detention for being late."

"You were late for school?"

"Not the point." Lorelai added. "In lunch detention, I saw that guy that I told you about, Chris. We were talking, and he's from Hartford. He even went to private school there. He really doesn't seem like the private school type, so I was kind of intrigued by him. He invited me to have lunch with him, and I did."

Joan was starting to wonder where this conversation was heading.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "During lunch, he mentioned that his mom made the best spaghetti. For some reason, I felt the need to compete so, I told him that my mom made the best spaghetti." Lorelai paused, but when she didn't receive a reply she decided to keep going. "He said he'd have to come over sometime and try it out for himself. Without thinking, I invited him over for tomorrow after school." Lorelai shut her mouth tightly and awaited a response.

A secret sigh of relief came over Joan. She was glad to see that Lorelai's problem was minor and easily solved. "Well, we'll just have to fix spaghetti tomorrow. It can be our one night a week that we don't order out."

"You're not mad?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course not, why would I be?"

"I invited over a random guy that you've never even met, for dinner that you didn't even know you had to make." Lorelai replied.

"Sweetheart, that was my job description for fourteen years." Joan smiled.

"I guess I just thought it seemed like I was taking advantage of you. Treating you like a maid instead of a mother." Lorelai's voice seemed gloomy. "That's why I keep trying to figure out how our new life should be, and how we should act. It's really hard to figure this stuff out."

"Maybe you shouldn't try to figure it out." Was Joan's retort. "Just let it be for a while. Let life run its own course and see where it takes you."

"But I don't want to screw it up…"

Joan took Lorelai's hand. "You're not going to." Joan stared Lorelai in the eyes. "Mistakes are how we learn. Don't be afraid to make one. There's going to be hundreds of bad days in your life, but thousands of good. There'll be tears and laughs, rights and wrongs and you'll grow with each one. It's not how much you can do or how much you can control, it's how much you enjoy it."

"I don't think I've been enjoying it lately." Lorelai replied as she leaned her head on Joan's shoulder.

"I don't think you have either." Joan agreed. "But tomorrow would be a good day to start over." She smiled.

"I've been so afraid that I'm going to screw things up, I didn't realize that I already had." Lorelai replied.

"You've not screwed up anything." Joan corrected. "When tomorrow comes, don't worry about anything but being yourself. If you just be who you are, then everything else will fall into place as well."

Lorelai let a tiny smile cross her face. "What if my true self is a pessimistic worry wart?"

"Don't worry, it's not." Joan laughed.

The next day at school, Lorelai felt a huge relief. Everyone had finally stopped the constant staring. It seemed as if no one was concerned over her and Luke anymore. In fact she hadn't seen Luke since the "incident". She assumed he was avoiding her, and apparently skipping Spanish every afternoon. It didn't matter, she was functioning quite well without seeing him. As Lorelai was heading out to Lunch she spotted Chris.

"Hey." Chris replied. "I was wondering if I was going to see you before lunch."

"Hey." Lorelai repeated.

"I just wanted to make sure we're still on for this evening?"

"Yeah." Lorelai smiled. "That is if you've not already realized that my mom's is the best."

"Oh, it's still a bet." Chris remarked. "You want to have lunch again?"

"Actually, I planned on eating with Sookie and the others today." Lorelai replied. "But you should join us."

"Ah, I don't think so." Chris said as he looked away.

"Come on." Lorelai insisted. "They'll love you. You're funny."

"They'll love me cause I'm funny?"

"Yep. That's really all they look for in a person." Lorelai answered. "Crack a couple of good jokes and you're in."

"Alright." Chris finally replied. "I guess I could give it a shot."

Whispers began to flood the norm table as they spotted Lorelai walking over with Chris.

"Who's that?" Savannah asked.

"Chris Hayden." Bridgette replied.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "He's a little cutie."

"Gosh, Lorelai is a total guy magnet." Savannah replied. "She sure moved on from Luke fast enough."

"Do you think she knows about what happened?" Matt asked.

"I bet she doesn't." Nick answered.

Jackson leaned over to the group of teens. "One of us should tell her."

"I'm not saying anything." Matt quickly replied.

"Me either." Came four more voices simultaneously.

"Fine." Jackson replied. "I'll make Sookie do it when she gets here."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, Sookie would be the best to tell Lorelai.

"Hey, everyone." Lorelai greeted as she reached the table. "This is Chris."

"Hi, Chris." Jackson replied. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good, Jackson." Chris answered as he pulled up a chair. "How's things been with you?"

"Same old same old." Jackson smiled.

Chris looked around the table. Everyone continued to stare at him. He smiled and focused back on Lorelai.

"So, Lorelai, are you and Chris together?" Miranda bluntly asked.

A look of sudden shock crossed Chris' face, as Lorelai nearly strangled on her soda.

"Wow, Miranda, you really waste no time beating around the bush do you?" Nick asked.

"Well, we're all friends here. No sense in keeping secrets." Miranda smiled. "So, are you?" She directed back to Lorelai.

"No." Lorelai replied as she cleared her throat. "We're just friends."

"For the moment." Bridgette added.

"I don't think I've seen you around before, Chris." Miranda replied.

"I've been here all year." Chris replied shortly but politely.

"I just don't see how I could have missed someone as handsome as you."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

"And the whore train pulls into Hooker Station." Matt said loudly.

Miranda glared at the two boys. "I'm not a whore."

"Of course not." Nick replied sarcastically. "Lady of the evening is much more suitable."

"I'm a virgin." Miranda forcefully countered.

Matt let out a quick laugh. "Yeah, and Elton John is straight."

Sookie made her way over to the table. She had just heard the news about Luke, and was feeling very somber. She couldn't force herself to smile and be cheery as usual. One thing about Sookie was that she had always had a gigantic heart. She could feel sorrow for anyone even if she didn't know them perosnally.

"Hey, everyone." Sookie said as she took a seat.

"Hey, Sook." Jackson replied. "You okay?"

"I just heard the news."

Suddenly, it feel very quite at the table. Everyone held their breath, knowing that Sookie would be the one to break it to Lorelai.

"What news?" Lorelai asked casually, yet at the same time setting herself up.

Sookie faced Lorelai. "Luke's father passed away. That's why he's not been at school these past couple of days."

A rush of guilt and remorse flew through Lorelai's body. Her first reaction was an instant flashback to what she had said to him only days before. She must have zoned out for several seconds, because once she focused back on reality, Chris was no longer sitting at the table.


	30. A Taste Of Honey

Lorelai spotted Chris as she was leaving Spanish. He was walking briskly down the hallway. She called after him but he didn't stop. Finally, she caught up with him.

"Chris." She said breathlessly. "Would you please stop?"

"I can't I have to get home." Chris replied.

"I thought you were coming to my house after school?" Lorelai asked as she kept trying to stay beside him.

Suddenly, Chris stopped. "Why, so we can sit around and talk about Luke?"

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"I saw the look on your face today." Chris bitterly said. "You still like him."

"His father _died, _Chris." Lorelai replied "I feel horrible."

"Why should you feel horrible?"

"Because of what I said to him." Lorelai folded her arms. "I know what it's like to lose someone really close to you. I never should have been so mean to him. Why are you acting like this? I thought you weren't a jerk like everyone else?"

"I'm not." Chris quickly answered. "It's just…"

"What…?"

Chris sighed. "If you still like Luke, then I don't want to intervene."

"You're not intervening. There's nothing between Luke and me. Except maybe an apology the next time I see him."

"So, you don't still like him?"

"I barely liked him to begin with." Lorelai replied. She saw a smile quickly streak across Chris' face and then just as quickly disappear. "Now, are you going to be a man and stand up to our bet or not?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"That's what I thought." Lorelai smirked. "Come on, I only live a few blocks away."

Chris and Lorelai took off down the sidewalk together. Within a few minutes they reached the front door. Lorelai opened the door and walked in.

"Wow, killer apartment." Chris replied as he gazed around.

"Thanks."

"Hello." Joan greeted as she stepped out of the kitchen. "You must be Christopher."

"Chris." He replied with a smile.

"Right… Chris." Joan smiled. "Welcome."

"Thanks… you have an awesome apartment." He's attention focused on a large Chinese vase sitting in the corner. "That's so cool. I've always been into Chinese culture. The symbols and stuff mostly." He added.

"I'm afraid the spaghetti won't be ready for about half an hour." Joan smiled. "I hope you don't mind waiting."

"Of course not." Chris said as he sat his backpack on the floor.

"We could watch tv." Lorelai offered. "Or, I could show you my room. It's so cool."

"Sure."

Lorelai headed off in the direction of her bedroom and Chris followed. Joan laughed quietly to herself, and then returned to her spaghetti.

"This is my dog Anna." Lorelai showed Chris a picture. "She's three years old."

"Oh, where is she?" Chris asked.

Lorelai paused. "She's… in Hartford. My father is keeping her for a little while till we get set up for her here."

"Oh…" Chris gazed down at the floor for a moment. "Are your parents divorced?" he asked politely.

"Not exactly." Lorelai replied. She honestly didn't want to get into this conversation.

"Just separated?"

"Hey, I could put in one of my Van Halen tapes." Lorelai quickly grabbed a tape from her desk. "I love their version of Wild Thing."

"I'm sorry, did I say something I shouldn't? Earlier, you mentioned you knew what it was like to lose someone close. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to pry." Chris looked her sympathetically in the eyes.

_Oh, those eyes_. Lorelai thought to herself as she stared back into them. Suddenly, she felt a feeling like she had never felt before come over her. Nervousness, mixed with excitement, fear, anticipation, and a burst of happiness all rolled into one.

"It's okay." She finally replied. She let out a deep sigh, she knew that she had to come forth with the truth at some point and time. She might as well get used to telling it. "When I was a baby, I was taken away from my real mother. I lived with Richard and Emily Gilmore for eleven years. I never knew that I was adopted. I just found out recently. My real mother had been the maid the entire time. She came and asked for a job after she found where I was. My adoptive mother died when I was eleven. It was devastating… then, my adoptive father got remarried to the most horrible woman I've ever met and my life. She had a son about my age, and he's nothing but a menace. When I finally found out that Joan was my real mother, my adoptive father had fired her from her job and she moved here. A few months later, he allowed me to come stay with her. So, that's my story."

Chris took in all the information. Lorelai started to wonder if she had been too forward with him. "That's the most I've heard you say since I have met you." He finally replied.

"I've not told anyone that story."

"I understand." Chris said softly. "I won't repeat it. I promise."

"You don't think I'm abnormal?"

Chris chuckled. "Lorelai, I think you're the most amazing girl I have ever met. You're strong, beautiful, and self confident. You are above normal, without a doubt but abnormal… no way."

Lorelai smiled. "I guess I never looked at it that way."

"Well, you should from now on." Chris pondered for a moment. "Doesn't it get confusing having two sets of parents?"

"_Yes_." Lorelai stressed. "I keep wanting to call my adoptive mom and dad my mom and dad, but I know it's not true. Joan is my mom. And I haven't met my real father yet. I don't even know if I ever will."

"Well, seems to me if your adoptive mother passed away and your adoptive father allowed you to move here, you should just stick to calling Joan your mom. After all, she did give birth to you."

Lorelai was becoming more and more comfortable. She had never gotten to speak with anyone aside from Joan and Richard about this. It was so nice having another point of view.

"I thought so too." Lorelai agreed. "But when I look at her, I see Joan. I don't see my mother."

"Never?" Chris asked surprised.

"Well…" Lorelai smiled. "When she kisses me good bye or good night… and when she plays with my hair. Anytime she shoes affection towards me, I feel this incredible warmth. And when she looks at me, I know she sees her daughter. I suppose I _can _see her as my mother, just not as much as I wish I could."

"Maybe you haven't let go of your adoptive mother? You still see her as your mom."

"You know, I really think that's it." Lorelai was very impressed with Chris' listening skills and his sensitivity. "I've not been able to see her as my mother, because I've been denying myself the right. Out of guilt I suppose. Joan says to just let it work itself out and give everything time. But I'm tired of giving it time, and I don't think anything is getting worked out."

"Then take control." Chris concluded. "If you want something, go for it. Make it happen."

"You're right." Lorelai replied. "I can't just sit around and wait for a perfect life to fall into my lap."

"Exactly." Chris nodded.

"Thanks, Chris." Lorelai smiled.

"Hey, anytime."

Joan poked her head through the door that she had made sure stayed open during Chris' visit. "Hey, you two. Ready for the best spaghetti you've ever eaten in your life?"


	31. Crying Waiting Hoping

A/N: I have promised many readers that they will receive the Joan/Lorelai interaction they desire from this story. I admit that right now my story is taking a direction that most of you do not like. I also understand that Chris is being very heavily involved right now, but fear not, he is all part of the grand plan. Anyway, this chapter is for those of you craving the Lorelai/Joan interaction. I hope you enjoy. I will also try to add more interaction between them in upcoming chapters.

Lorelai and Chris stood outside the apartment. The sky was clear and you could see all the stars. You could also smell the leaves in the cool October air. They both gazed up at the sky for several moments without saying a word.

"Makes you feel pretty small, huh?" Lorelai asked.

"Not when I'm with you." Chris replied. "I feel like I'm the one on top of the world."

Lorelai giggled. "Can it, Romeo."

"You like it." Chris teased.

They both took their eyes away from the sky and onto each other. "Maybe, I do." Lorelai finally said.

"I had a great time today. And you definitely got the point across that Metallica is better than White Snake." Chris rubbed his arm. "I hope it doesn't bruise."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, well, that's what you get for trying to argue with a …" Lorelai's smile quickly faded.

"Girl?" Chris asked trying to fill in the blank.

"No." Lorelai said softly. "I was going to say Gilmore, but it just kind of crossed my mind… I shouldn't have that last name."

"It's your legal name isn't it?" Chris asked. "I mean, even if Richard and Emily weren't your real parents, legally on your birth certificate and all it said Gilmore."

"Yeah, I guess so." Lorelai replied. "Well, it's getting late. I should probably get inside."

Chris picked up on the hint. "Right. Umm… can I … would it be okay if I …." Chris rubbed the back of his neck. "Man, this is harder than I initially assumed."

"My number is 227 – 3690." Lorelai offered.

Chris smiled. "That was actually my second question."

"Oh? What was your first?" Lorelai stared Chris directly in the eye, not even taking a pause to blink.

Slowly, he leaned forward. His lips tenderly met hers. It was a brief kiss, short and sweet. He pulled away gently and let out a deep breath. "Can I kiss you?"

Lorelai, who had closed her eyes during the kiss, smiled. "Anytime."

"I'll call you tomorrow." Chris replied. "Goodbye, Lorelai Gilmore."

"Christopher." Lorelai replied.

Chills suddenly dashed down Chris' back. There was something about the way she just said his name that he never felt when anyone else said it. He hated being called Christopher, but the way this girl said it, it made him feel like he was a king. "Yeah?" he asked as he turned back around and faced her.

"Was it the best spaghetti you had ever eaten?"

"The best." He smiled.

Lorelai turned back and walked inside. She felt light and fluffy, like she was walking on air. She was starting to realize she liked Chris way more than she ever could have liked Luke. Chris was true and sincere. Luke was just a figurehead. Nevertheless, she still felt horrible and would make it a point to apologize to him when she had the chance.

Lorelai strolled down the short hallway to her bedroom. She jumped onto her bad and laid on her back looking up at her ceiling. She was beginning to progress in deep thought, when Joan walked in.

"He seems very nice." Joan replied with her toothbrush in her mouth. "I like him."

"So, do I." Lorelai replied. "He's so sweet."

Joan exited into the bathroom to rinse her mouth, she returned a few seconds later. "Just remember…" She began. "He's a guy… don't expect too much from him."

"I didn't expect anything at all from him. That's what's so great about it." Lorelai smiled. "I was actually mean to him when I first talked to him. I hit him on the arm earlier today. We got into an argument over bands."

Joan shrugged. "Some guys like to be kicked around a bit."

Lorelai laughed. "I suppose so. He's just so easy to talk to. And he helped me realize a lot tonight."

"He did?" Joan asked impressed. "Has he considered a degree in psychology?"

"Perhaps he should. He's a very good listener and excellent with advice. I told him about everything, and he completely understands."

"Everything?" Joan asked.

"Yeah, about me and you and Richard and Emily." Lorelai paused. "He says I'm above normal…" She added with a light laugh. "I thought he would think I was weird when he found out about my past, but he couldn't have been any sweeter about it."

"Lorelai, I don't think you should tell young men things like that." Joan said in a harsher voice.

"What?" Lorelai asked, not following Joan's train of thought. "I was just telling him about myself, about us and the things we've been through."

"Those things are personal. You barely know this boy. You shouldn't have told him those things."

"But…"

"What if he repeats it all over school? Are you ready for that?"

"He won't…" Lorelai quickly replied, starting to become defensive.

"And why wouldn't he?" Joan asked.

"Because, Chris isn't like that."

"Lorelai, please, do not let some guy come in and change your views about things. You have to think for yourself and realize who you can trust and you can't…"

"He wanted to know!" Lorelai interrupted. "He wants to know about me, who I am and where I come from. Why should I keep it a secret, I'm not ashamed."

Joan sat down on the bed. "I'm not ashamed either." She clarified. "I'm just concerned is all. Personal matters should stay personal until you're sure that you can share them with someone."

"But that's what I've been trying to talk to you about this whole time!" Lorelai's temper was beginning to flare. "You said to let things be and everything would fall together. To be myself and not try to figure out everything."

"But I didn't mean for you to tell a strange boy our personal information…" Joan corrected. "And lower your voice, and change that tone." She added sternly. "You don't have to speak to me that way."

"You sound like Emily." Lorelai scoffed as she jolted from the bed.

"Don't call her that…" Joan replied softly. "She was your mother."

"No, you're my mother. She's just a woman who couldn't have children so she took someone else's."

Before Joan realized what she was doing she had stood to her feet and was standing only inches from Lorelai. "Don't you dare say such a thing about Mrs. Gilmore! She was a fine woman. She loved you as much as anyone could."

"As much as you?" Lorelai asked as she folded her arms neatly across her chest.

"Yes... As much as me."

Lorelai looked away from Joan. She knew couldn't ask this question and look her in the eye. "Why didn't you try to take me back?"

"Because, I knew you would have a better life there."

"Well, I didn't." Lorelai mumbled. "I was miserable."

"I don't believe you were miserable, Lorelai. You really should stop being so dramatic."

A wave of tears violently rushed to Lorelai's eyes. "I wanted to runaway and never return." Lorelai said through clenched teeth. "When my mother was alive I hated her, after she died, I hated my father. Then I find out they're not even my real parents."

"Lorelai…"

"I'm not being dramatic…" Lorelai's tears began to escape. "I can't figure out who I am!"

Joan's harsh walls began to crumble. "Sweetheart, please don't do this to yourself…" Joan placed her hands on Lorelai's shoulders.

"You tell me to be myself, and when I try, you tell me that I shouldn't have. For once in my life, I felt I had things figured out. I had hope again… and now I feel like I've made an even bigger mess."

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Who am I Joan? Am I your daughter?" Lorelai asked as more tears fell from her eyes. "Am I Gilmore? Do I belong with you or do I belong in Hartford?"

Joan pulled Lorelai in and hugged her tightly. "You're mine. You're my daughter, and you belong with me." She answered. "Never question that." Joan felt her own eyes begin to water. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things. I'm so sorry…"

Lorelai began to sob, as her shoulders gently moved up and down. "I just want all of this confusion to go away."

"I love you so much, Lorelai." Joan said softly. "Please know that."

"I do…" Lorelai's muffled voice replied through tears and Joan's night shirt.

Joan placed Lorelai at arm's length. "You _are_ Lorelai Gilmore." She said with certainty. "And you've been blessed more than you realize. You've had two mothers who love you with all of their hearts."

Lorelai wiped at her tears and sniffled. "Chris said that if I wanted something to happen, I should make it happen. Take control…." Lorelai paused for a brief moment. "I want things between us to be wonderful."

Joan replied, "Lorelai, I think things are already wonderful between us. You're the best part of my life. You always have been."

"But things are different now." Lorelai continued. "I want to call you my mother. I want everyone to know who you are. I've been trying to decide for weeks who I should refer to as my mother, and it has to be you. I was afraid of feeling guilty, but now I realize that there's nothing to feel guilty about."

"Lorelai, you don't have to say this. I told you that you could call me anything that you want. Joan is fine, I don't mind being called…"

"No." Lorelai interjected. "You're not Joan… you're not the maid … or the cook… you're my mother. I need you to be my mother."

"Is that what you've been worried about?" Joan asked. "Sweetheart, I will _always _be your mother. I only suggested you continue to call me Joan if it made you feel more comfortable. Look, I know that this is confusing and very emotional." She paused. "Why don't we give it a try… you can call me mom and we'll see how it sounds and works."

"I've called you that a few times at school." Lorelai replied, her tears drying. "It sounded okay, but felt a little strange."

Joan smiled. "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day."


	32. Drive My Car

"Mom, I'm leaving now!" Lorelai called as she grabbed her backpack from the kitchen table.

"Hey, is Chris coming over tonight?" Joan called from her bedroom.

"Tell me you didn't forget it's our one year anniversary? It's the only thing I've talked about for the last two weeks." Lorelai replied as leaned her head into her mother's door.

"I didn't forget." Joan remarked. "That's why I was asking. I thought maybe he'd like to stop by here first for some pictures before you take off to whatever it is he has planned for you."

"He says it's a big surprise." Lorelai smiled. "I'm almost afraid of what he has in store. You know, Chris."

"Alright, well, I'll have the camera ready just in case."

"Awesome. Gotta go, I'm running late." Lorelai quickly kissed Joan on the check and turned to leave.

Once she walked onto the school yard, she met up with Sookie.

"Hey!" Sookie replied as she came bursting forth with energy. "Today's the big day! One whole year!"

"I know…. I'm expecting like a medal, or a special news broadcast…" Lorelai retorted.

"Aw, you guys are just so sweet together." Sookie smiled. "Did you know that you and Chris have the third longest relationship in the school?"

"No. How do you know something like that?"

"I asked around. Turns out Jimmy Stevens and Laura Ratcliff have been dating a year and a half. Ryan Starr and Katie Frontier have been together two years, and of course we have Kyle Robins and Lilly Anderson who have been together since the fourth grade."

"Fourth grade?" Lorelai asked. "Wow, I didn't even acknowledge boys in fourth grade."

"Yeah." Sookie sighed. "That's a record no one's gonna beat. I honestly believe they'll get married once they graduate."

"Good for them." Lorelai replied. "I'm sorry, Sook, but I have to get to Spanish 2. I'm totally going to be late."

"It's cool. I just wanted to wish you a happy anniversary. And I want all the details later." Sookie winked.

Lorelai laughed. "Alright… it's a deal."

As soon as Lorelai was about to reach her Spanish class a bouquet of flowers suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Oh, Christopher." Lorelai gasped. "They're beautiful."

"All your favorites." Chris replied as he handed them over. "I'll see you after class, I know you're running late." He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. "I love you." He whispered in her ear.

As she walked into Spanish a loud "Awwwww." Was heard from all the girls. Lorelai smiled, she was so proud of her and Chris' relationship.

After the longest school day of her life, Lorelai waited patiently outside for Chris. Finally, she saw him coming down the steps.

"Hello, beautiful." He greeted as he wrapped his arms around her.

"So, what's the big surprise?" Lorelai asked. "I'm dying to know."

"I never should have told you there was a surprise." Chris laughed. "I should have known it would be the first question out of your mouth every time you see me. Be ready to leave at 4:00. I have to run home and borrow my aunt's car."

"I still cant believe she is letting you drive. You've only had your license for 3 weeks."

"She knows I'm a good driver. Plus, she knows how important tonight is." Chris took Lorelai's hand. "I'll pick you up at 4:00, okay?"

"Okay." Lorelai said softly as she stood smiling from ear to ear.

He kissed her on the cheek and headed off in his direction.

Once at her house, Lorelai changed clothes and touched up her hair and make up. By 4:00 she was waiting anxiously by the door.

"He still hasn't told you anything about the surprise?" Joan asked.

"No." Lorelai replied distractedly as she continued to stare out the window.

"And you cant take the time for just a couple of pictures?"

"Mom, he said to be ready to leave by 4:00. So, no, no pictures." Lorelai's voice was rushed and quick.

Joan sighed. "Okay, well, perhaps when you come back then."

Lorelai clenched the curtain as she saw the car pull into the drive way. "He's here…" she turned around and faced Joan. "Do I look okay?"

"You look marvelous." Joan smiled.

Lorelai smiled also. "Okay… I'll be home later." Lorelai glanced down at the dog who was laying quietly on the floor. "Bye, Anna." She bent down and gave the dog a friendly pet.

"Have a good time, sweetheart."

Lorelai opened the door and skipped out to the car. Chris opened the door for her and then shut it after she was in. He gazed up at the window and saw Joan staring at them. He waved, and received one as well. He hurried to his side of the car and then pulled out of the driveway.

"So, can you finally tell me where we're going?" Lorelai asked.

"I'll give you a hint." Chris replied. "It's one of your favorite places to eat."

"But I have a thousand favorite places to eat." Lorelai remarked.

"Well, like it I said it's one of them. Then, we're going to watch a movie. And then, you'll get your big surprise."

Lorelai noticed that Chris was about to take the Hartford exit. "We're going to Hartford?"

"Yes, we are." Chris smiled.

Lorelai quickly began to think of restaurants that she enjoyed in Hartford. Only two could come to mind. The Olive Garden, and Le Bretagne. She hadn't eaten at Le Bretagne since Emily had died. It was far too expensive for her and Joan. Considering and comparing the two, she had pretty much assumed they were going to the Olive Garden but she didn't want to spoil it, so she kept her assumption to herself.

Minutes later, when they pulled up beside Le Bretagne, Lorelai's heart nearly stopped.

"Chris, you're joking?"

"I'm not." Chris replied as he turned off the car.

"This place is so expensive. Even Richard only came here for special occasions."

"You said you remember having the best meals here at Le Bretagne. That you hadn't eaten here since you were a little girl, and that you would love to eat here again sometime."

"I said that months ago." Lorelai replied.

"Which was a good thing, it took that long to get this reservation." Chris smiled.

"Oh, Chris… I don't know what to say."

"How about, Je t'aime."

Lorelai smiled. "I do love you, I love you very much."

"Come on, our reservations start at 5:00."

Lorelai ate all of her favorite foods that she hadn't eaten in years. The movie was romantic and funny, and the entire evening had been blessed with an atmosphere of simplicity and bliss. Lorelai had never felt more in love in her entire life.

Chris slowly pulled the car up to the lakefront. He turned off the ignition and faced Lorelai. "This was my favorite place to come when I was a kid. My cousins and I would play baseball over there, and my family would have hot dogs and hamburgers all day long ready for us to eat. My dad would bring out his boat and we'd go sailing."

"Sounds like it was really special." Lorelai replied as she snuggled closer in his arms.

"It was. Have you had a good time tonight?"

"Oh, Chris, this night has been so amazing. I never want it to end." Lorelai honestly replied.

Chris reached inside his pocket. "Well, you can finally have your big surprise now."

"Oh, I've been having such a great time I forgot about it." Lorelai laughed.

He handed her a small box. She took it and opened it. A diamond ring set inside it.

Lorelai quickly closed the box. "Oh my God…" She said as her eyes bulged from her head.

Chris laughed. "Wait a second, let me explain. It's not a wedding ring. We're much too young for that." He brushed a piece of hair back behind her ear. "It's a promise ring." He said softly. "I promise, to be yours. Only yours. And forever yours, as long as you'll have me."

Lorelai opened the box up again. She removed the ring and stared at it. "My mother will freak if I wear a ring from you. And the kids at school, they will all assume it's an engagement ring, the rumors will fly, you know how they are."

"You don't have to wear it." Chris replied. "Not until you feel comfortable about it. You can keep it by your bed each night, if that's what you want. Just know that it represents my love for you. It holds all my promises." Chris kissed her gently and passionately on the lips, not quitting for several minutes.

"Oh, God." Lorelai moaned as their make out session continued to get heavier. "I love you so much, Chris."

"I love you, too." Chris breathlessly replied.

Slowly, articles of clothing started to disappear from their bodies. Each kiss leading them deeper and deeper into a place they'd never been. The thought of stopping crossed Lorelai's mind for a split second, but then quickly vanished as her emotions overpowered her.


	33. Sweet Little Sixteen

"You're what!"

"Pregnant…" she repeated.

"Is it mine?"

Lorelai's face was covered with hurt. "Of course, it's yours. Who's else would it be?"

Chris collapsed onto the bed. "I can't believe this."

"Well, don't sound so surprised about it, we've been having unprotected sex for the last month." Lorelai calmly replied as she sat down on the bed beside him.

"How are you not freaking out right now?" Chris asked, his hands beginning to shake.

Lorelai gazed downward. "I found out last night… I started to get upset, but then I realized it's not such a bad thing."

"Lorelai, are you crazy? You're 15… I'm 16… We're just sophomores in high school… I just got my license."

"Chris, don't you see what this is? This is a chance for me to finally be someone. Instead of being the girl who didn't know she was adopted, or the girl who's been dating Chris Hayden for a year and a half, I'll be a mother. I'll finally have a title… and a purpose." She smiled. "I'm happy about it. We can be great parents. We can do all the things we never got to do as kids."

Chris jumped from the bed. "You're cracked! I can't believe you're even serious about having this baby. Your life is not going to get better by having a kid at 16, it's going to get worse! Don't you realize that? It's going to ruin both of our lives!"

"That's a horrible thing to say!" Lorelai yelled in return. "You had just as much to do with this as I did. I didn't get pregnant by myself!"

"Why didn't you go on the pill or something?"

"Why didn't you wear a condom?" Lorelai countered.

"I thought you were taking care of that sort of thing…"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Oh, well that's being precautious."

"Who knows about this?" Chris's voice became hard.

"No one… You're the first and only person I've told."

"Keep it that way." Chris demanded.

Lorelai huffed. "Uh, Chris, pregnancy isn't exactly something you can keep a secret. See you get bigger and bigger each month and then you have a baby."

"Don't be a smart ass!" Chris scoffed. "I have to figure out what we're going to do about this. Until then, you don't tell a soul what's happened." He pointed his finger in Lorelai's face.

"Don't point at me, Chris." Lorelai replied in a very calm voice. "I'll tell who I please about this baby."

"You're being stupid." Chris growled. "You're not ready to be a parent."

"Me? You're the one who's not ready." Lorelai replied. "I don't understand you Christopher. I thought you'd be happy…."

"Happy?" Chris repeated. "Happy?" He quickly turned away and then turned back. "Why would I be happy? I don't want a kid!"

Lorelai became silent. She focused her attention on the floor. Chris' breathing became heavy. "If you keep this baby…." He paused. "We're over." Lorelai's eyes quickly shot up from the floor to Chris. "I'm serious…" he continued. "I don't want any part of this."

"Fine." Lorelai replied in a low voice. "I don't need you." Lorelai opened her bedroom door and stood beside it. "Leave."

Chris nodded his head. He stormed out of the room. "This relationship has went to hell, anyway." He muttered as he walked by.

Lorelai slammed the door behind him. She quickly began to destroy all the things that reminded her of Chris. His pictures, his letters, his cards. Then she found the promise ring he had given her nearly six months ago. She picked up the box and without a second thought, tossed it into her trash can. She fell upon her bed, and for the first time, since the strip turned pink, she cried.

A few hours later, she heard Joan returning home from work. She had calmed down for the most part, but was still very emotional. She knew she had to eventually tell Joan about the situation. Lorelai knew she couldn't hold off for very long. Joan was a very smart woman and would notice something was going on. Joan was pregnant herself at sixteen. Lorelai found humor in the fact she had followed in her mother's footsteps. She was also depending upon that fact that Joan would be understanding and helpful when she heard the news.

"Lorelai, are you home?" Joan's voice called through the apartment.

"In my room!"

Joan entered the bedroom. She sighed and sat down on the bed beside Lorelai. "Ugh, what a day. My feet are killing me." She laid back on the bed and placed her arms behind her head. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

"Did Mr. Olson lose his files again?" Lorelai asked.

Joan nodded. "This time, we didn't find them until after the patient had left. I was on my feet all day long searching through hundreds of files. Finally, I found the right ones… in the termination pile. Thank God I found them before the shredder had them for dinner."

Lorelai leaned over and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. She placed her arm around Joan's waist. This was Lorelai's way of softening Joan for the news she was about to deliver. Joan, being her usual kindhearted self, thought nothing more of the gesture than being loving affection from her daughter.

Joan ran her hands through Lorelai's hair. "You're hair is getting so long." She replied. "You're due for a haircut."

"I like it long." Lorelai whispered as she cuddled closer.

"You have dead ends, sweetheart. We at least have to trim them." Joan continued the soothing motion, manipulating Lorelai to close her eyes and relax. She forgot a brief moment about the baby growing inside her.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"You would love me no matter what, wouldn't you?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course I would." Joan smiled.

"No matter what happened, or what I had done?"

"No matter." Joan stopped playing with Lorelai's hair, and awaited to see where the conversation was heading.

"But sometimes, something that appears bad isn't really so bad. It just seems that way."

Now Joan was confused with Lorelai's sudden skip in the conversation. "Lorelai, have you done something that would appear bad?"

"Not just me." Lorelai replied. "Chris too."

"What have you and Chris done?"

Lorelai could hear the mother tone coming out in Joan's voice. She knew, she was too far in now to back out. "I'm pregnant." She whispered. She closed her eyes, and hoped for the very best. She felt Joan's body tighten as she gasped.

"Oh, my God." Joan said as she stared off into the dead space.

Lorelai rose from the bed. "Don't be angry…" she replied.

"Lorelai, are you sure?" Joan asked.

"I bought a pregnancy test yesterday. It turned pink."

Joan quickly placed her hand to her head. "Oh, dear." She muttered. She gazed back up at Lorelai. "How long have you been having sex?"

Lorelai swallowed heavily. "About six months." She honestly replied.

"Six months?..." a look of terror came across Joan's face. "How could I have not known? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know…"

"I could have kept you from getting pregnant. There are birth control options, and everything these days…"

"I don't understand…" Lorelai replied. "You were pregnant with me at sixteen."

"That's not the point! I don't want you to go through what I went through. I never saw your father again after you were born. I was lucky the Gilmores were willing to let me stay with you."

"I'll be a good mother." Lorelai defended.

"What about high school? What about _college?_" Joan paused. "Have you told, Chris?"

Lorelai quickly looked away and didn't answer. Joan leaned her head back and gazed up at the ceiling. "He left you…" she concluded.

"I told him to leave!" Lorelai remarked. She was beginning to become emotional again. "He said if I had the baby that we were over, so I told him to go! I don't need him! Why aren't you happy for me? I want this baby, I think I'll be very good as a mother!"

"Sweetheart, you're too young…"

"I'm not too young! I'm the same age as you were."

Joan took Lorelai by the hand. "Just because I did it, doesn't mean it's right."

Tears rolled down Lorelai's cheek. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

Joan stared deep into Lorelai's eyes. She could see the confusion, and the pain. She took a deep breath. "I want you to come with me to the doctor tomorrow. We'll need him to examine you, and make sure everything is okay."

Lorelai embraced her mother tightly and began to sob in her arms.

"It's okay…" Joan coaxed. "Everything will be okay. I'm here."


	34. She's A Woman

"I don't think she's fully grasped what's happening." Joan replied as she handed Daisy a cup of coffee. "She thinks it's going to be so easy and that her life is going to be so much better."

"If she's happy about it, maybe it will make her life better." Daisy replied. "After all, if she's old enough to be having sex, she's old enough to follow through with the responsibilities of what could happen."

"She's not old enough to have sex." Joan sighed. "_I _wasn't old enough to have sex. I just wanted so much more for Lorelai. I never expected her to…" Joan paused. "She's not a little girl any longer, Daisy." It became obvious Joan was still upset over the situation. "She's not going to need her mother any longer, she's going to be one."

"Oh now, Joan, you know that's not true." Daisy sympathized. "Lorelai will always need her mother. She'll need you more now, than ever. You're right, she's not a little girl any longer, but she is a young woman. She's going to be scared, nervous, anxious, and all sorts of other feelings she doesn't even know exist yet."

"The doctor said she's doing really well." Joan smiled. "In a few more weeks we can find out if the baby is a boy or girl."

Daisy's face brightened with delight. "And which one would you like to see come along?"

Joan laughed lightly, "It wouldn't matter…" She paused. "I suppose, it would be nice to have a boy in the family. Just to spice things up a little."

"Then finally, there would be a man in Connecticut worth having one day." Daisy replied.

Joan's mind wandered to Chris. "He should have stepped up to all of this."

"Christopher?" Daisy asked. "He's a sixteen year old boy. He can barely step up to the toilet and aim straight."

"We admit that Lorelai is a young woman, and must take responsibility for what she's done, but it should be the same for him. He could make such a difference in both of their lives."

Daisy slowly nodded her head. "Sweetie, in my opinion, Lorelai is better off without him."

Joan sighed. "Perhaps you're right. If there's one thing Lorelai has, it's ambition."

"What about Richard?" Daisy asked.

Joan's eyes bulged. "I never thought about that. Should I tell him?"

"I don't know." Daisy replied. "Do you think he should know?"

"He and Lorelai haven't talked for months. He's not even seen her in over a year."

"Well, it'd be better if he finds out from you, than from someone else."

"Oh, Daisy, what if he tries to take Lorelai away?" Joan asked in fear. "Legally, she's not mine. I've been keeping her all this time only because he allowed her to move here."

"Hey, if he's not seen her in over a year or talked to her in months, then I don't think he's too concerned about her. Chances are, he'll just refuse to have anything to do with her or supporting the baby."

"Well, that's not a surprise nor a threat. I don't expect Richard to support either of them."

Later that day, Lorelai returned home from school. She slammed the main apartment door, then slammed the door to her bedroom. Joan, who was resting peacefully in her room, making the most of her day off from work, suddenly jumped from the bed.

"Lorelai!" Joan called. "I'd like to keep our doors on the hinges!"

"I hate him!" Lorelai shrieked.

"Him who?"

"Christopher!"

"That him."Joan sighed and climbed out of her bed. She opened Lorelai's door and walked in. "What happened?"

"He told everyone at school that I'm pregnant…" Lorelai pouted.

Joan thought for a moment. "Well, it's not such a bad thing… they would have found out sooner or later anyway. You know how it is here in Stars Hollow. Just remember that you're proud of your baby and not ashamed of becoming a mother. If you hold your head up high, and show everyone that you're …."

"He's told everyone he's not the father!" Lorelai interjected. "He's made me look like some slut!"

Joan's calm attitude remained. "Well, he can ignore, deny, and protest all he wants…. But it doesn't change anything. He _is _the father, and he will have to take responsibility for what's happened sooner or later."

"I don't want him around my baby." Lorelai replied. "I don't want anything to do with him, ever again…"

"Sweetheart, one day that might change. What if your child wants to meet his or her daddy?"

"I've never met my real father." Lorelai countered. "And I'm okay with that."

"Lorelai, you have to stop comparing your situation with mine. This is completely different."

"How?" Lorelai asked. "Looks the same to me."

"I'm not forcing you to give up your baby." Joan seriously replied. "I'm going to help you. I'm going to make sure that you stay healthy and the baby stays healthy. And after you've given birth, you'll go back to school and graduate. You're going to do all the things that I didn't."

Lorelai sighed. "I just want to be as good of a mother as you are."

"You will be." Joan smiled. "Even better, I'm sure."

Lorelai pulled herself back together and took a deep breath. "You're right… We can handle this." She smiled. "If Chris wants to be immature about all of this, then that's his problem."

"Exactly." Joan replied.

"I'm going to go over to Sookie's for a while. I'm sure she has lots of questions about the rumors she's heard today."

"Be home before dark." Joan replied.

"I will." Lorelai promised.

(Sookie's House)

"Wow… Wow…."

"Sookie, you've said wow six times now." Lorelai sighed. "Please, say something else."

"Oh my God."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "It's not as big of a deal as it seems. I mean, people get pregnant all the time."

"I just thought it was a horrible rumor." Sookie shook hear head. "I honestly didn't know it was the truth."

"Well, part of it is the truth. The part about Chris not being the father is a lie. He's the only boy I've ever been with."

"That creep! How dare he do this to you!" Sookie replied in anger. "First he gets you pregnant, then he denies he's the father! That… That…. Eww!"

Lorelai smiled. "I appreciate that you care so much, Sook."

"Of course I care… You're my best friend!"

"Hey, I've had a strange craving for chocolate all day. How about we go down to Taylor's market and buy out his candy isle?" Lorelai suggested.

"Should you eat a lot of chocolate… I mean… with your condition?" Sookie asked, truly concerned.

"It's not a condition." Lorelai laughed. "And from what mom has told me so far, I'll be eating all kinds of things for the next 8 months."

"Well, okay… chocolate does make me feel better when I'm upset."

Lorelai and Sookie walked down the street to Taylor's. They stood in the candy isle counting up their money to see how much candy they could actually get away with.

"I have 2.30" Sookie replied.

"3.25, here." Lorelai added.

"Okay, that will get us…" Sookie paused. "Six candy bars, and two sodas. And 4 cents left over in change."

"You math geek." Lorelai teased.

Sookie gasped as she glanced up behind Lorelai.

"What?" Lorelai asked. "Add up something wrong?"

"It's Luke." Sookie replied in a high whisper. She pointed to the cash register. "He's a bag boy!"

Lorelai quickly turned around. "Oh, my God. So this is where he's been for the last year and a half."

"Impossible, I come into Taylor's all the time. I've never seen him here before." Sookie concluded. "It must be his first day."

"What do we do?" Lorelai asked.

"We drop the candy and run." Sookie suggested.


	35. All Things Must Pass

Lorelai and Sookie stepped out of Taylor's and stood on the sidewalk.

"Sookie, this is my chance to apologize to him."

"What?" Sookie asked in high pitched voice.

"I've never seen him since… well that day." Lorelai glanced inside the window. "I should apologize."

"I don't know… I've heard some pretty bad things about Luke since he's left school."

"Like what?"

Sookie frowned. "I hear he's into a lot of trouble with the police. Perhaps even robbery."

"Sookie, if he was committing robberies why is working as a bag boy for Taylor?"

Sookie shrugged. "I don't have answers, I just have the gossip."

"Well, I need to do this." Lorelai continued. "It's one thing I'm going to clear my conscience about." Lorelai took a deep breath and walked back inside of the market. Sookie followed close behind. Lorelai slowly walked towards Luke who was busy bagging an old lady's groceries. "Hey…" Lorelai said softly, but before she could continue a younger, but still just as pushy Taylor stepped in front of her.

"Ma'am, please do not bother the workers." Taylor replied.

"Don't call me ma'am Taylor." Lorelai dully remarked.

"Fine, Ms. Gilmore, please do not bother the workers."

Lorelai placed her hands on her hips. "What makes you think I was going to bother him? I may have had a very important question to ask him about a product."

Taylor rolled his eyes and huffed. "You're a fifteen year old girl. You're not going to approach a young, good looking, bag boy who is currently preoccupied with another customer unless it is for some "product unrelated" reason."

"So, you think Luke is good looking?" Lorelai smirked. "That's nice."

Taylor sighed. "If you wish to speak to Luke, you may do so during his break at 4:30."

Lorelai quickly looked at her watch. "Okay, I can wait five minutes."

Taylor, noticing a customer needing assistance in one of his isles, took off and left the girls standing alone.

"Well, you have five minutes to decide what you want to say to him." Sookie replied.

Lorelai continued to stare at Luke, who had not taken his eyes of the bags of groceries.

"I'm just going to tell him the truth… That I was being just as much of a jerk as he was."

"So, you're going to apologize, but you're still going to call him a jerk?" Sookie asked. "Doesn't that sound a bit counterproductive?"

"Well…" Lorelai frowned. "He was a jerk."

Luke finished up the lady's bags and lifted his head to wipe at his brow. It was at that moment his eyes landed on Lorelai. He stared for a moment, then looked away. He loaded up the bags, and carried them outside to the woman's car. Lorelai and Sookie followed after him.

"Hey, Luke." Lorelai greeted.

"Hey." Luke repeated as he continued to load the groceries.

"You have a break in a couple of minutes, right?" Lorelai asked.

Luke didn't reply.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you…" Lorelai glanced back at Sookie who looked just as confused as she did. "Please." Lorelai ended.

Luke closed the trunk to the lady's car. "Have a good day ma'am. Thank you for shopping at Taylor's Market."

"Thank you, young man." The woman replied as she slowly sank into her car.

Luke's attention focused back on Lorelai. "I have ten minutes." He said as he pulled a dollar out of his pocket and fed into an outside vending machine.

"It's really warm today, huh?" Lorelai replied. "Which is strange cause it's March. You'd think it wouldn't be so warm…"

Sookie sighed and shook her head. Lorelai was always so bad at getting to the point about things.

"Look, I only get two 10 minute breaks a day and a thirty minute lunch break, I don't want to spend them talking about the unusual weather we're having." Luke took a drink of his cool water.

"Me either." Lorelai continued. "What I really want to talk to you about is… well, I haven't seen you since … well, you know… and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Luke asked.

"You know… for saying what I said to you. I was being just as much of a jerk as… as anyone."

Luke didn't appear affected by Lorelai's apology. "Well, that was like two years ago. I've not really thought about that in a while."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, that's good… that you don't hold a grudge or anything… but, you know, I just… I just felt obligated to tell you that I'm sorry… and now I've told you, so… I guess we'll just go buy some candy." Lorelai turned to leave the staggering conversation.

"I'm sorry too." Lorelai quickly turned back around when she heard his voice. Luke's eyes were squinting from the sunlight. "I deserved everything you said."

"Well, I'm glad we resolved this." Lorelai smiled. "I'll see you around?"

"Sure." Luke replied. "If you hang out at Taylor's often."

Lorelai and Sookie walked back inside. Sookie had that extra large smile on her face, that already told Lorelai what she was thinking.

"Sookie, please don't say it." Lorelai begged.

"Okay…" Sookie agreed. "I won't say it. But I'm going to be thinking it."

"Fine, let's just get some candy and go." Lorelai grabbed a handful of candy bars.

As the daylight slowly drifted away, Lorelai kept her promise and returned home before dark. Feeling much better about a lot of things, she entered the apartment. Joan was sitting on the couch watching tv.

"Hey." Lorelai greeted.

"Hey, sweetie." Joan replied. "Did you get Sookie straightened out on everything?"

"Actually, I got a lot of things straightened out. I saw Luke today. I finally got to apologize."

Joan smiled. "Wow, that was a very long awaited apology."

"Maybe on my end." Lorelai remarked. "I don't think he was waiting for or expecting an apology."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you worked it out anyway." Lorelai took a seat on the couch beside Joan. "I called Richard today." Joan randomly stated.

Lorelai's attention quickly escaladed. "About me?" she asked.

"Yes… I wanted to let him know about your pregnancy. I figured it would be best if he heard it now. I didn't want him thinking we keep secrets from him."

"I don't see how it's even any of his business." Lorelai spat.

"Apparently, that's how he feels as well." Joan sighed. "He wasn't the least bit concerned that you were pregnant. He said it was my problem now, not his, and not to bother him."

Lorelai's feelings were secretly hurt, but she wasn't going to let anyone know that. "Well, that's fine; saves us a lot of trouble."

Joan shook her head. "That woman has really changed Richard."

"He let her change him." Lorelai noted. "It doesn't matter. We're our own family now."

"You know, I'm going to be a grandmother at thirty two years old." Joan smiled.

Lorelai giggled. "And what if you're a great grandmother by 48?"

"Lorelai…" Joan laughed.

"All I'm saying is, there could be a pattern."


	36. Yesterday

_A/N: First, I want to apologize for not updating in a few days. I had to go back to my hometown and be a bride's maid in my cousin's wedding lol. Anyway, I am back now, so hopefully my updates will go back to regular. _

Lorelai stood outside of Taylor's Market. As 4:30 finally came, Luke stepped outside and walked over to the vending machine.

"Hey."

Luke turned around quickly. "Hey… I didn't see you standing there."

"I thought I'd stop by." Lorelai smiled.

"Oh."

"You don't mind do you?"

Luke opened his water bottle. "No, of course not."

They took a seat on a bench sitting beside the vending machine. "You haven't been working for Taylor long have you?" Lorelai asked.

"No… just for a few days." Luke replied. "I did work for a guy across town. Mostly garage stuff… but he went out of business. Taylor's was the only place hiring, so I ended up taking the job."

"You're working full time?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep. I'm going to save up as much money as I can and reopen my dad's old hardware store." Luke pointed across the street.

Lorelai gazed at the run down building. "What about high school?"

"What about it?"

"Aren't you coming back?"

Luke huffed. "No. I'm done with school."

"Done? But you're Luke Danes… the great track star. The ladies' man… the most popular…"

"Stop." Luke interrupted. "I'm not any of those things anymore. I have a younger sister at home who needs taken care of, if I don't work and earn money to buy her food and clothes and keep the bills paid, who will? I have more things to worry about now than being a track star or the most popular guy in school."

"I'm sorry…" Lorelai said softly. "I wasn't thinking."

Luke sighed. "It's not your fault. I guess I'm still a little bitter towards my past. My mother died after she gave birth to Liz… and now my dad is dead too. Just doesn't seem fair."

Lorelai fiddled around with her bracelet, deciding whether or not she bring up her past to Luke. "Well, I understand. I really do. The woman who I thought was my mother passed away when I was eleven. Then, my father got remarried to this horrible woman who had a spoiled bratty son… but then I found out that my real mother was…"

Before Lorelai could finish, Taylor pulled Luke up by the back of his shirt. "Luke, your break time is over."

"Jesus, Taylor…" Luke snapped. "Take it easy."

"I'll take it easy, once you get back in there and start bagging groceries."

"Alright…" Luke groaned. "I'm coming."

Taylor looked down at Lorelai. "Have a question about a product, Lorelai?"

Lorelai stood to her feet. "Actually, yes." She smirked. "I noticed you have a shampoo that's supposed to reduce balding in your medicine isle."

"I do." Taylor admitted.

"Does it work?"

"All of my products work, Lorelai. If they say they'll do something, they'll do it, else I wouldn't have them in my store."

A grin crept across Lorelai's face as she glanced up at Taylor's balding head. "You should consider using your products, Taylor."

Taylor placed his hand on his head. Luke turned his face and smiled. Lorelai proceeded to leave, but Luke quickly stepped around Taylor and stopped her. "I get off work at 8:00." He replied.

"213 Pearl St. Apartment A." Lorelai replied.

"I'll be there." Luke smiled.

(The apartment)

"I'm just saying maybe it's not a good idea to begin another relationship so quickly."

"Mom, it's not a relationship."

"Lorelai, you used to like this boy." Joan recalled. "If you two start to hang around each other again old feelings will flare."

"It's not like that." Lorelai replied. "We have something in common now. He's not the same Luke he was when I first came here."

"Lorelai, keep in mind that you have a baby growing inside of you. You're not the same either."

Lorelai placed her hand on her stomach. "I know. I'll be honest with him about myself. Like I said, it's not a start of a new relationship. Just a new friendship. I'm honestly not concerned about a boyfriend. I want to focus on myself and my baby."

"That's the best thing for…" The doorbell rang, before Joan could finish her sentence.

"That's probably him." Lorelai smiled. "Be nice."

"Of course." Joan replied.

Lorelai walked over and opened the door. Her smile quickly faded as she saw Chris standing on her doorstep.

"Christopher…" Lorelai said blankly.

Joan quickly came over and stood beside her daughter.

"Hey." Chris replied. "Can we talk?"

"Chris, I don't think that would be a good idea." Joan replied, as she placed her arm around Lorelai.

"Joan, I really need to talk to her. It's about the baby and the stuff that I said. I didn't mean any of it. I've realized that now and I want to be the father that Lorelai wants me to be." He smiled.

"You're wrong." Lorelai replied. "I don't want you to have anything at all to do with my baby."

Chris' smile faded. "You did a few weeks ago."

"Well, that was a few weeks ago. But you've shown me what a horrible father you would make. You're too immature and too insensitive to ever be a father." Lorelai began to shut the door.

"Wait." Chris held up his hand. "Can we just talk about this?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Lorelai attempted to shut the door again.

Lorelai glanced behind Chris and spotted Luke walking up the sidewalk. Chris turned and nearly choked when he realized it was Luke.

"You have to be kidding me!" Chris replied as he turned back to Lorelai. "You're seeing Luke?"

"I'm not seeing, Luke." Lorelai defended. "And even if I were, it's none of your business."

"Lorelai, that is my baby too." Chris snarled.

Luke, who hadn't heard any of the conversation between Lorelai and Chris, had now made it to the doorstep. "Hey, is this a bad time?" he asked, oblivious to what he had just walked into.

"No..." Lorelai quickly answered. "Chris was just leaving. Come in." Lorelai opened the door wider.

Chris attempted to let himself through the doorway, but was immediately blocked by Joan.

"Damn it!" Chris smacked his hand up against the side of the door.

"Hey!" Luke shoved Chris away from the door. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Chris repeated. "You're my problem!"

"What did I do?" Luke asked.

"Don't play Mr. Innocent." Chris scoffed. "You've been after Lorelai for years. Well, she's mine!"

Luke turned back around. "You're with him?" Luke asked Lorelai.

"No. Not anymore." Lorelai replied. "Luke, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was going to show up here tonight, honest."

Luke focused his attention back to Chris. "I don't think they want you here."

Chris took a deep breath. "Stay out of this."

"I think you should go." Luke said forcefully. "Before there's any trouble."

"Trouble?" Chris laughed. "You're threatening me?"

"Chris, just get out here!" Lorelai yelled from the doorway.

Chris stood still for a moment. "Fine." He said softly. "But this isn't over." He took one final look at Lorelai and then walked away from the apartment.


	37. Ain't She Sweet

"A baby?" Luke asked as he glanced down at Lorelai's thin stomach finding it hard to believe.

"I just found out a few weeks ago." Lorelai smiled.

"Chris is the father…"

Lorelai sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Wow…" Luke slowly sank onto the door step. "That's …."

"Unexpected?" Lorelai sat down beside him. "I guess I'm not a kid anymore, huh?"

Luke smiled. "I'm sorry I called you a kid… I was on a very high horse back then." Luke kicked at a clump of dirt beside his shoe. "Now, I'm working as a bag boy for one of the most annoying people in town."

"You're doing what you have to do to take care of you little sister." Lorelai replied. "There's nothing shameful in that at all."

"Liz hates me." Luke remarked. "She blames me for everything. She keeps threatening to run away…" Luke paused. "She's been seeing some guy… I know she has been. She'll run away with him, Lorelai."

Lorelai placed her hand on Luke's shoulder. "If she does, then you should let her go. Don't try to stop her. It'll only make her want to run away more."

"Yeah, Liz is spiteful." Luke agreed. "If she goes, in a way I'd be better off. I'm not good with looking out for others, you know. I'm kind of a one person guy, and that one person is me."

"I don't think that's true, Luke. I think you're protective, thoughtful, noble…"

"Thanks… that's a lot coming from you." Luke smiled. "I mean, you're going to be a mom… God, I could never be a parent."

"Why?" Lorelai asked, half laughing.

"I hate kids." Luke replied. "They're loud, and they're rude… and they always smell… and their hands are always sticky and dirty…"

"You're leaving out all the good parts." Lorelai added. "Like, when you see a baby take it's first step. Or say it's first word." She smiled. "Or when they're learning to read, or write, or ride a bicycle. When you give them their first puppy or kitten. When they start school… when they kiss you good night and ask you to read them a story." Lorelai paused. "Children are so innocent. They're so pure and untainted. It's amazing."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "You do not sound 15 years old."

Lorelai raised from the step. "Like I said Luke, I'm not a kid anymore. I'll see you tomorrow." Lorelai opened the door and walked inside.

Lorelai waited impatiently with Joan in the doctor's waiting room. She kept staring at the clock.

"Lorelai, relax." Joan smiled. "The doctor will be out shortly."

"I know." Lorelai exhaled. "It's just, this is a very big moment for me. There's going to be a lot of firsts here in the next 20 minutes."

"It's painless, I promise." Joan replied.

"It's not the ultrasound that scares me." Lorelai retorted. "It's having the doctor _examine _me. I mean, geeze where does my privacy go?"

"You seemed fine when we took you to Dr. Andrews."

Lorelai's voice lowered. "Yeah, but Dr. Andrews was a woman."

"Dr. Herbert is a very professional man." Joan added. "He's a wonderful doctor."

"Really?" Lorelai asked. "And how do you know that?"

"He delivered you, 16 years ago."

Lorelai turned and her head away from Joan, and kept quite until the nurse came out and called her and Joan back to the office.

Lorelai walked into the bright white room. There were monitors and chords running everywhere.

"Hello, Joan." Dr. Herbert smiled as he walked in from another door. "It's nice to see you again."

"Hello, Dr. Herbert." Joan smiled as she placed her arm around Lorelai. "This is Lorelai."

A gigantic smile crossed the doctor's face. "Well, what a pleasant surprise. You may change in that room over there." He pointed. "Then help yourself into that bed, there. I'll be back within a few minutes, and we'll get started."

Lorelai reluctantly changed into the hospital gown, and crawled into the bed. She was dreading every moment of this, but couldn't stand another minute of not knowing whether she was carrying a boy or a girl. It became clear to Lorelai that if she wanted her rainbow, she'd have to put up with the rain first.

A few minutes later, the doctor returned and began his examination. "Well, we can begin the ultrasound now." He smiled. "This is my favorite part."

Joan took Lorelai's hand and smiled, to show her daughter she truly did support her through everything. Lorelai took a deep breath as she tried to lay back on the bed and relax.

"Hmm…" Dr. Herbert replied. "Interesting."

"What?" Lorelai asked anxiously.

"The baby appears to be smiling." Dr. Herbert announced. "I've never seen that before."

"It's happy." Joan said as she gazed up at the screen. "But who could blame it?"

Lorelai turned her head so that she could see the screen. "Wow, it does look like it's smiling." Lorelai's face lit up with happiness. "Can you tell what it is? I'm growing tired of using the word _it_ . It seems so degrading and so inhumane."

The doctor looked closer and waited for the baby to move so he could get a creditable answer. "Oh, yes." He smiled. "There's no doubt about this one. She's a girl."

Lorelai could feel her mother's grasp become tighter. "A girl?" Joan repeated.

"A girl…" Lorelai said, continuing to stare at the screen. "I'm going to have a daughter."

"Well, your family is definitely a fan of female chromosomes." Dr. Herbert laughed. "If you'd like, Lorelai, I could print out a couple of the ultrasound pictures for you to keep."

Lorelai shook her head yes, but never removed her eyes from the screen.

"Alright, I'll be back in a just a minute. Sit tight." Dr. Herbert left the room.

"Oh, mom…" Lorelai gasped. "I don't know if I can weight 5 more months."

Joan smiled. "Believe me, sweetie, there's a lot to do before then. It'll go by quickly."

"I have to start thinking of names." Lorelai replied.

"How about Emily?" Joan suggested. It wasn't till after she said it, that she realized what a rude suggestion it was. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay." Lorelai smiled. "It's a sweet thought, but she's no Emily." Lorelai placed her hand on her much larger stomach.

"You know, I always liked the name Christina. It may have been your name if I had gotten to keep you." Joan paused. "But, now I wouldn't be able to even think of that name without it reminding me of Christopher."

Lorelai looked Joan straight in the eye. "Chris is out of this picture." She said firmly. "He knows that it's over… He knows that he's blown his chance with both of us." Lorelai bit her bottom lip. "I was going to wait to tell you, until I was certain, but he called the other day. He said he's moving to New Jersey to live with his grandfather. He's going to finish up high school, then attend Princeton."

"Princeton?" Joan rolled her eyes. "Lorelai, that's very unlikely."

"Actually, his father and his grandfather and he's great grandfather all attended Princeton. I'm pretty sure he's not lying."

Dr. Herbert bolted back into the room. "Alright, Lorelai, here are you pictures. We'll get you unhooked, and you'll be free to go until your next scheduled check up."


	38. Revolution

"Lorelai, I already got diapers." Luke groaned.

"Those aren't the right ones." Lorelai countered as she wobbled down the isle.

"How much could it matter?" Luke asked as he pushed the buggy and followed after her.

"It matters a lot. I want everything to be perfect when she gets here."

Luke sighed. "Okay, so what's next on the list?"

"Baby formula." Lorelai replied.

Luke grabbed a random bottle of formula from the shelf.

"Not that one." Lorelai replied.

"You know, maybe me helping you shop for you baby was a bad idea."

"No, no…" Lorelai said softly. "It's a great idea." She put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry that I'm being so picky. I just want everything…"

"To be perfect…" Luke finished. "I know." He smiled. "So, which formula is the perfect one?"

"That one." Lorelai pointed.

After they finished the shopping, Luke helped Lorelai carry the bags back to the apartment. The apartment had been and stayed a mess since Lorelai's 7th month. Strollers, play pins, toys, bottles, and several other baby items had been spread throughout the rooms.

"So, have you decided on a name yet?" Luke asked as he set the bags on the table.

"Not yet." Lorelai replied. "Last night I was leaning towards Samantha, but this morning it didn't sound right at all."

"Well, if worse comes to worse you could always name her after yourself." Luke teased.

"Hey, that's a good idea." Lorelai smiled.

"Lorelai, I was kidding."

"Well, I'm not. Guys do it all the time. Why can't girls?"

"When guys do it, it's to carry on the family name." Luke countered. Lorelai's dull expression told Luke that his argument was weak and pointless. "You're seriously going to name her, Lorelai?"

"Sure… We could call her by her middle name or something." Lorelai replied. "Hmm, now what could her middle name be?"

"Why not Victoria?" Luke asked.

"Gosh, Luke… I'd like for her to have a little bit of originality. Besides, Victoria is a horrible middle name. I've never liked it. What was your mother's name?"

"My mother?" Luke asked. "Her name was Hannah."

"And her middle name?"

"Leigh." Luke replied.

"Hannah Leigh. That's a very pretty name." Lorelai smiled. "Can I use it?"

"The whole thing?" Luke asked.

"No, just Leigh."

"Sure. I guess…"

"Lorelai Leigh." Lorelai smiled. "It's perfect."

"Let's hope the baby's name is all that she takes after you." Luke teased.

Lorelai quickly grabbed a hold of Luke and let out a small but high pitched squeal.

"I was kidding." Luke defended. "You knew I was kidding."

"Luke, I think it's time." Lorelai's eyes widened and her grasp became tighter around Luke's arm.

"Time?"

"Time!"

"Oh, God…" Luke said as let out a deep breath. "Lorelai, it can't be time. You're not due till November!"

"Well, I don't think she knows that!" Lorelai yelled.

"Where's your mom?"

"Work…" Lorelai spat as her breathing began to increase. "Oh, Luke… we have to go…"

"To the hospital?"

"Yes, the hospital!"

"Oh, God… Oh, God… Oh, God." Luke began to pace the kitchen.

"Luke, stop pacing!"

"My truck. We'll take my truck." Luke concluded.

"Okay, get my bag out of my room. It's already packed." Lorelai ordered, trying to keep herself calm.

"You already packed a bag? We're you expecting this?"

"Luke, just get the bag!"

Luke ran into Lorelai's room and grabbed her bag. Lorelai was making her way out to Luke's old 65 Chevy. Luke ran out of the apartment and tossed Lorelai's bag onto the back of the truck. He quickly helped Lorelai in, then crossed over to the driver's side. After several times of pumping the gas, he finally got the truck started and headed down the street.

Several minutes later, Lorelai was being pushed into the delivery room of the Hartford General Hospital. Luke, who had fallen to a complete nervous wreck, collapsed into a waiting room chair. A few minutes later, a nurse came to his side.

"Are you Luke?" the nurse asked.

"Yes..." Luke answered.

"Ms. Gilmore has requested that you come back to the delivery room."

"What!" Luke jumped from his seat. "I can't do that!"

"She said you'd say that." The nurse replied. "She also said, that if you left her alone and in this much pain, she'd kick your…. Well, I think you get the picture."

Luke sighed. "Alright."

"Come with me, we'll prepare you for the delivery room."

"I don't think you _can_ prepare me for this." Luke mumbled as he walked behind the large double doors.

Minutes later, Luke was standing beside a very irate Lorelai.

"Okay, Lorelai, you're doing great!" Dr. Herbert reassured.

"I don't feel great!" Lorelai yelled in return.

"Isn't there any kind of medicine you can give her?" Luke asked, honestly concerned.

"She's too far in for that now…" Dr. Herbert replied. "There's going to be a new baby in this room in only a matter of moments."

Luke glanced down at Lorelai. "You're doing fine." He smiled. "It'll be over soon."

"I can see the head!" Dr. Herbert announced. "Come on, Lorelai, one big push!"

A loud raor of pain escaped from Lorelai's lungs, followed by a deep breath of relaxation as she finally pulled through her labor.

"Oh my God." Luke whispered as he saw the nurse cleaning off the baby. "Lorelai…."

Lorelai glanced over at the nurse. Her head was aching, and her eyesight was blurry but she knew everything was okay. The nurse slowly walked over and handed the baby girl to Lorelai.

Lorelai's heart began to thump faster and faster as she held the tiny infant in her arms. "Oh, Luke… she's beautiful." Lorelai replied her emotions starting to overpower her.

"She looks just like her mom." Luke smiled.

Tears streamed down Lorelai's face. "I wish my mom had been here."

"I called her." Luke replied. "She'll be here soon."

"Ma'am, we need a name for the baby." The nurse replied.

"Lorelai Leigh." Lorelai replied faintly.

"And the last name?"

Lorelai smiled. "Gilmore."


	39. Chains

"Lorelai, please don't get upset." Luke begged.

"Luke, it's been two hours! Why isn't my mother here?"

"Maybe she got caught up at work or in traffic…"

Lorelai groaned. "I can't believe she missed this…"

"Well, in all fairness, you did go into labor 2 and a half weeks early." Luke replied. "I'm sure she's doing everything she can to get here."

Dr. Herbert stuck his head through the door. "Lorelai, would you like to hold your daughter for a while? She's been all taken care of with the nurses."

"I'd love to, Dr. Herbert." Lorelai replied, forgetting for the moment that Joan was absent.

A few seconds later, Dr. Herbert brought the sleeping baby girl into Lorelai. "I have to check on another patient, but I'll be back shortly."

"She's so tiny." Lorelai said as she lifted her daughter's small hand. "She didn't seem that small when she was coming out of me." Lorelai laughed.

"You did a great job." Luke added.

"Would you like to hold her?" Lorelai asked.

A look of fear came across Luke's face. "Oh, I don't know… I'm not good with babies."

"But this is my baby. She's different. Here…" Lorelai reached the baby over to Luke. "See, it's easy."

Luke's nerves calmed after a few seconds. "Hi, there, Lorelai Junior." Luke smiled.

"Oh, well that sounds horrible." Lorelai giggled. "I was thinking… how about Rory?"

Luke gazed down at the infant. "Rory… Rory Gilmore." He smiled. "Suits her just fine."

Lorelai watched Luke for several moments. It looked and felt so right for him to hold her daughter. She couldn't imagine Christopher ever being in the picture. She thought about her birthfather and how she had never even met him. Richard had done so well up until Emily passed away, but Lorelai owed all the credit to Joan.

"Luke…" Lorelai whispered. "She'll need a male in her life and obviously it can't be Chris."

Luke took his eyes away from Rory and looked at Lorelai. "I'll always be here for her." He replied. "I'll always be here for both of you."

"I know that." Lorelai smiled. "Thank you, so much."

Lately, Lorelai was beginning to realize that her feelings for Luke were becoming much more than just feelings of friendship. Sure, they had gotten close over the passed few months, but now they had shared something that would tie them together for life. Luke was more than just a friend. They both knew it. They both wanted it that way. But they both kept it hidden. It was almost like a game to see who could hold out the longest.

Suddenly, the door opened to the hospital room. Lorelai's hopes of Joan arriving sky rocketed, but then came to a crash as Dr. Herbert appeared from behind the door. He had a sad look on his face, as if he had just lost his dearest friend.

"Something wrong doc?" Luke asked, as he gently handled Rory back to Lorelai and stood from his chair.

Dr. Herbert pulled Luke outside the room and into the hallway. "Luke…" Dr. Herbert's voice cracked. "There's been an accident."

Luke's face turned pale and his heart began to sting with fear. "Who?" he asked slowly, honestly afraid to know the answer.

Dr. Herbert hung his head. "Joan…" there was a long pause of silence. "She wrecked her car on her way to the hospital."

"How bad is it?"

Dr. Herbert glanced down at the floor. "She died on impact."

Luke shut his eyes tightly, praying that he had heard the wrong words. "No." he said softly. "Oh… no."

"Poor Lorelai…" Herbert replied. "I just don't know how I'm going to tell her."

"She can't take this." Luke said, his voice becoming heavier with emotion. "She's already lost one mother… she can't take losing another."

"She has to know." Herbert said regretfully.

"It'll kill her!" Luke replied angrily. "Don't you see that?"

"Of course I see that!" Hebert defended, feeling as if Luke was blaming him for the accident. "I cared very much for Joan! She was a dear friend of mine. I delivered Lorelai sixteen years ago. You think I don't realize the pain? Well, I do!"

"I'm sorry." Luke quickly apologized. "I'm sorry… I just… I just don't want to believe this is happening right now." Luke glanced back towards the hospital room. "She just gave birth." He said sorrowfully. "All she wanted was for Joan to be here."

"She's a strong young woman. She'll be able to move on." Herbert slowly walked passed Luke and back into the hospital room.

Luke watched from the doorway as Dr. Herbert broke the news to Lorelai. Tears slowly formed in his eyes as he saw the expression on Lorelai's face. It was the first time Luke had ever felt pain for some one else, and at that moment he wished he could take all of Lorelai's pain if it were possible.

Herbert walked back out into the hallway. He stared at Luke for a moment. "You should go to her."

Luke nodded and walked back into the hospital room, closing the door behind him.


	40. Any Time At All

(3 Weeks Later)

Lorelai took a deep breath and walked into the doctor's office.

"May I help you?" A friendly woman asked when she spotted Lorelai walking towards her desk.

"My name is Lorelai Gilmore. My mother used to work here."

"Oh, yes…" The woman replied sympathetically. "Joan…" she gazed down at the floor. "I'm sorry to hear about that. She was a wonderful woman."

"Thank you." Lorelai replied blankly. "I was hoping I could pick up her paycheck today. I wouldn't normally ask such a thing, but well… we could really use the money."

The woman bit her bottom lip. "Well, seeing as how you're her daughter, I suppose I could give it to you. I'm not sure about you getting it cashed at a bank though."

"I'll find a way." Lorelai smiled.

"I hope you do, honey." The woman smiled too as she handed Lorelai the check. "May God bless you."

"Thanks."

Lorelai turned and walked out of the doctor's office. Luke was standing outside holding Rory in his arms.

"Got it." Lorelai replied as she closed the door behind her.

"That's great." Luke handed Rory back to Lorelai. "Do you think the bank will let you cash it?"

"They should. I just have to show them her death certificate… they should already have me on file somewhere as her daughter."

"Well, everyone in Stars Hollow knows you're her daughter." Luke paused. "I wish you would let me help you more."

They continued to walk down the street. "Luke, you help so much already."

"But you're living alone in that apartment and you have Rory now. Lorelai, I know you can't keep paying all these bills."

"I'll find a way, Luke." Lorelai replied as she continued to be optimistic. "I'm going to get a job with you at Taylor's. He already said he'd hire me fulltime as a cashier."

"You're still going to need more money. Believe me, I know…" Luke huffed. "I work fulltime and I barely earn enough to keep me and Liz going. Luckily for us, Dad owned the house we live in, there's no rent to pay, but just keeping up with the bills is a lot."

"Well, if I have to I'll move to a smaller, cheaper apartment." Lorelai countered.

"Or, you could move in with me."

Lorelai abruptly stopped. "Luke…" she scoffed.

"What?" He asked. "It's not such a bad idea. I've been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks actually."

"No way." Lorelai began walking again.

"Why not?' Luke followed after her.

"Because…"

"Oh, well when you put it that way how can I possibly argue with you?" Luke countered. "Come on, Lorelai, two incomes are much better than one, besides… You know how I feel about you."

"Luke, it's not about our feelings for each other." Lorelai quickly answered. "I don't want to be some live in girlfriend."

"You won't be! Lorelai, I want to be a part of your life; a part of Rory's life. You said yourself you wanted her to have a male role model."

"And what are we going to do Luke? Work at Taylor's for the rest of or lives for 5.88 an hour? Never graduate high school? Never even attend college?" Lorelai's optimistic attitude was quickly vanishing. "I don't want that type of life… not for me… not for Rory."

Luke quickly stepped in front of Lorelai… "You can go back to high school." He looked her dead in the eye. "You can go to college if you want, if you'll just let me help you. I'm going to fix up my dad's old hardware store. I won't be working at Taylor's much longer."

Lorelai glanced down at the baby in her arms. It wasn't just Lorelai now, there were two Gilmores that needed taken care of. Thinking back to the apartment and the bills, Lorelai knew it would be a tough battle. A battle that she may not be able to win. If she accepted Luke's offer, then she'd be depending on a man and that was something she had never found appealing, but there were many more things to consider now.

"I'll think about it." Lorelai replied.

"Good. That's all I ask… is that you think about it."

Luke stepped out from in front of her, and they continued walking till they reached the bank.

After several minutes of negotiating they finally found a way for Lorelai to cash her mother's check. It was only $743.00 but it would be enough to pay the bills and the rent for one more month with a little left over for food and living supplies. Lorelai had never actually realized what a tight squeeze Joan made each month with bills and rent. Joan had never once complained about not having enough money. If she had, Lorelai would have offered to get a job instantly.

"You want to come over for a while?" Luke asked. "I could make us some dinner."

"Sure." Lorelai replied. "God knows, you're much better at cooking than I am."

Luke, Lorelai, and Rory entered into an empty house. Luke called for his younger sister several times but never received an answer.

"Where the hell did she go? She knows she's not supposed to take off without telling me first."

"Luke." Lorelai replied as she picked up a note from the kitchen table. "She's gone."

"What?" Luke asked as he took the note from Lorelai.

_Dear Big Brother: _

_I know you're doing the best you can, and I admire you for that. I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, but I knew you would try to stop me if you saw me leave. Don't worry about me, Jimmy and I are in love and we're going to make things work. Believe me, this is what is best for the both of us. I'll be in touch soon. _

_Love, _

_ Liz _

Luke folded the letter neatly and laid it back on the table. "I knew she would run away."

"She'll be okay." Lorelai reassured.

"Yeah." Luke nodded.

"Hey, if you don't feel like making dinner, I understand. I can grab something on the way home and Rory has plenty of formula."

"No…" Luke shook his head. "No, we're still having dinner. This doesn't change anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. What will it be? Spaghetti? Meatloaf? You name it… anything you want."

"What about a cheese burger?" Lorelai asked. "Can you make a cheeseburger?"

"Psht, can I make a cheeseburger?" Luke smiled. "I can make the best cheeseburger you've ever eaten in your life."

"Oh really?" Lorelai's face lit up. "Well, maybe you should open a diner instead of a hardware store, since you're such a fantastic cook."

Luke stared at Lorelai for a moment. "You know… maybe I should."


	41. When I Get Home

Lorelai sighed as she locked the door to the apartment. So much of Joan's belongings were still around. Lorelai couldn't bare the thought of removing anything of her mother's, but at the same time having all of her mother's belonging around kept Lorelai even more upset.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to box some of this stuff up." Lorelai said to herself. "There's no point in living in the past."

Lorelai sat down on the couch. She had already made sure Rory was sleeping well and comfortably, she had done the housework, and sent out checks for all the bills, and it was only 9:30. Here she was, a sixteen year old girl sitting alone on a Saturday night. A sudden thought of Christopher ran through her head. She bet he was out with some girl at this very moment living it up and enjoying his responsibility and worry free life. It didn't seem fair. Chris was just as liable for what happened as Lorelai was. Lorelai certainly couldn't have gotten pregnant on her own. Even though she believed it was better for Chris to stay away from Rory, she couldn't help but feel he was getting such a better deal. Knowing Chris, he probably didn't even tell his parents he had a kid here in Stars Hollow. He got away scot-free.

Lorelai's eyes began to tear up as she thought back to all that had happened over the last few years. Losing Emily, then Richard remarrying that horrible woman and her son, and now she had lost Joan. She was living in an apartment she couldn't possibly afford, had a three week old baby asleep in her bedroom, and where was Christopher? What had Christopher lost? For the first time in a long time, Lorelai felt sorry for herself. Tears slowly made their way down Lorelai's pale face. She couldn't help but wonder why must everything be so hard. Her pity party came to a screeching halt as Rory squealed from her cradle. Lorelai quickly rushed to the baby's side.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Lorelai asked as she picked the baby up from her bed. "Did you have a bad dream? Are you hungry? Need a new diaper? Gosh, this will all be so much easier when you can tell me what's wrong." Lorelai began to rock Rory gently in her arms, trying desperately to sooth her. "I guess you have much more to cry about than I do." Lorelai replied. "You have to depend on someone else to know what to do to make you feel better. You can't just tell me what's wrong or fix it yourself. You're so much more helpless than I am. I should be taking control of things and making things better for myself. I mean, who else is going to if I don't? My mother is gone…" Lorelai paused for a moment noticing that Rory was beginning to fall back asleep. "I can promise you one thing, Rory, I'll always make things better for you. I'll never leave you to fix something by yourself." Lorelai placed the baby back inside the cradle. She turned off the light, and decided to call it a night herself.

The next day Lorelai was ready to start "making things better" she waited till she was sure Luke was on break, then she and Rory headed down to Taylor's market.

"Hey!" Luke smiled happy to see his two favorite girls. He peeked through the blanket at Rory.

"Hi, Rory." He whispered softly. "I've got great news. Taylor told me today you can start Monday."

" That is great news. Luke… I've been thinking a lot the last few days." Lorelai said. "And well, I'd like to move in with you… if you still want me to."

"Of course I do." Luke replied. "We can start moving this evening, as soon as I get off work."

"It doesn't have to be a rush." Lorelai added. "I still have three weeks in the apartment."

"I don't want you two there alone another night." Luke said as he placed his hand on Lorelai's face. "I'll bring my truck over after my shift and I'll start loading stuff up for you. Go home and start packing." Luke smiled. He turned and stepped back into Taylor's.

"See, Rory…" Lorelai spoke to the baby in her arms. "I told you he would insist on starting tonight." She smiled.

Lorelai turned and headed back down the street.

"Lorelai!" A voice called from behind her. "Lorelai!" Lorelai turned and saw Sookie running up the sidewalk. "Lorelai, thank God it's you!"

"Hey, Sookie!" Lorelai greeted.

"I've been meaning to stop by, but I've been so tied up with semester exams. And I almost stopped by yesterday but I thought maybe it was too soon and that you'd call me or stop by to see me when you were ready…." Sookie's rambling quickly ended as she spotted the baby in Lorelai's arms. "Oh!" She shrieked. "Lorelai, she's beautiful."

Lorelai smiled. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Oh, can I?" Sookie asked. Lorelai handed Rory to Sookie. "What did you name her?"

Lorelai laughed a little. "Lorelai Leigh, but I call her Rory."

Sookie smiled. "I'd expect something like that from you. How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't seen you since the funereal." Sookie's sad expression was true and sincere.

"I've been good." Lorelai replied. "And it's okay, I understand. I've been pretty busy these last couple of weeks."

Sookie glanced back down at Rory. "I've been waiting forever to see you." Sookie smiled. She looked back up at Lorelai. "I was surprised you didn't bring her with you to the funereal."

"It kind of seemed wrong to start her life off with a death. I just didn't want the first thing she'd ever attend to be her grandmother's funereal." Lorelai replied. "Dr. Herbert let her stay in the hospital an extra day."

Sookie handed Rory back to Lorelai. "Are you coming back to school next semester?"

Lorelai cleared her throat. "I don't know yet… maybe. We'll see how things go."

"I hope you do. I miss you so much." Sookie smiled. "I wish I could see you more. Christmas break is coming up soon and if you want I'll come over every day and stay with you."

"It's okay, I'll be fine." Lorelai paused for a moment. "I'll be staying with Luke for a while, so I won't be alone."

Sookie's draw dropped. "You're staying with who?"

"Oh, come on, Sookie, don't act so surprised." Lorelai replied. "We've been friends for months now."

"_Friends_ yes, but I didn't know you two were together."

"Well, we're not exactly." Lorelai answered. "I mean, like, he never officially asked me out or anything. There isn't like a certain date that we decided we'd start going out or celebrate monthly… it just kind of became this unspoken agreement."

"So, you _are_ dating?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't know, Sookie. It's complicated."

"It's okay, you don't have to explain anything." Sookie replied. "Are you letting him help you raise Rory?"

Lorelai hesitated to answer. "Kind of, I guess. He's not like pretending to be her father or anything, but he plays with her and feeds her and the other day I talked him into changing her diaper." She smiled.

"That's so wonderful of him. He sure has changed since high school."

"Yeah…well, we both have." Lorelai added. "I hate to run, Sook, but I have a lot of stuff to do."

"Hey, I understand. If you need help with _anything _just let me know."

"I will. Bye." Lorelai turned and continued walking down the street.

Later that evening, Lorelai had boxed up nearly all of Joan's belongings which didn't make too much sense considering it was her and Rory that were moving. Still, it was somewhat of a relief to remove all of her things from sight. She began to pack up some of her own things when she heard Luke's truck pull into the driveway. She loved the sound of his truck. Every time she heard it, she felt safe and content.

The door to the apartment slowly opened. "Hey." He greeted as he closed the door behind him. "It's getting pretty cold out there. It may snow tonight."

"I love snow." Lorelai smiled. "I hope it comes a blizzard for Christmas." She tossed some shoes into a box.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Luke replied. "Are these boxes ready to go?" he pointed at all the boxes of Joan's belongings.

"Actually…" Lorelai began. "Those are all of mom's things."

"Oh." Luke quickly answered. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I plan on bringing most of it with me to your house. The rest of it I'll take to the goodwill. She always took stuff there that she didn't need anymore."

"Okay, well, I can load it up as well and we can drop it off on the way to my house."

"Sure, that sounds great." Lorelai turned and walked back into her bedroom. "Luke's here." She smiled as she gazed down at Rory. "I hope he doesn't mind waiting a couple of more hours till I finish loading up some more of our stuff." There were several seconds of silence. "Of course he won't mind, he's Luke."

Luke stuck his head through the bedroom doorway. "Hey, Lorelai, which boxes are for the goodwill?"

"All the goodwill stuff is marked with a G." Lorelai replied.

"I see." Luke answered. "I thought maybe the G stood for something else… like Gilmore."

"No." Lorelai smirked. "It stands for goodwill."

"Alright… cool…" Luke nodded. "I'll be ready for some more boxes in just a few minutes then."


	42. Not A Second Time

(Several months later)

Lorelai shot up from the bed, trying desperately to catch her breath. Her body was covered with sweat, and her mouth dry as the Sahara. Luke, who was up instantly, put his hand on Lorelai's arm to comfort her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Lorelai panted. "I just need to get some water."

"I'll get it; stay here." Luke flipped the covers off of his body and hurried to the kitchen. Within seconds he returned. "Same dream?" he asked as he handed Lorelai the glass.

Lorelai nodded her head. "It went farther this time." Lorelai replied. "I actually saw the crash."

Luke lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Lorelai gulped down the water. "It's okay…" She regained control of her breathing. "God, I wish there was a way to stop these dreams."

"You could see a doctor… maybe they could help." Luke gently sat down on the bed beside, Lorelai.

"I don't want to see a doctor." Lorelai replied. "I'm not crazy, Luke…"

"I don't think that at all." Luke quickly answered.

"I guess I feel guilty." Lorelai admitted. "If I hadn't of went into labor early, she wouldn't have been rushing and she wouldn't have wrecked. It's not fair, you know? To lose two mothers by age 16."

Luke's heart went out to Lorelai. He wished he could take her pain away, but he knew it was something Lorelai would have to work out for herself. "It's not fair at all." He agreed. "But if anyone can survive it, it's you."

Lorelai smiled. "You're always saying the right things. How do you do that?"

"I have the right inspiration, I guess." Luke replied.

"I'm glad Rory and I moved here. It's been the best thing since mom passed away."

"I'm glad you and Rory moved here. It just all falls into place now." Luke grinned. He could barely see her through the dark room, but he could still see how beautiful she was.

"God took away both of my mothers, but he gave me two wonderful people in return." Lorelai said as she slid her hand over to Luke's. "Rory and you keep me going." She whispered.

"I think it's the other way around." Luke slowly moved in and kissed Lorelai.

(The next day)

"Uke!" Rory babbled. "Uke!"

"I'm coming!" Luke replied as he hurried down the stairs. He picked up Rory at the bottom of the steps and whisked into the kitchen where Lorelai was attempting to make breakfast. "Want to trade?" Luke asked.

"Definitely." Lorelai handed Luke the spatula and took Rory from his arms. "Are you sure Miss Patty is okay with watching Rory today?"

"She sounded more than okay when I asked her yesterday." Luke replied as he flipped the eggs. "She loves watching Ror, you know that."

"I know… but we just ask her so much." Lorelai sat Rory down in her high chair.

"Well, she understands that we both work at Taylor's. She's more than happy to help."

"Babbette offered to watch her." Lorelai noted. "At least that gives us someone else to rotate with besides Miss Patty and Daisy."

"You won't have to worry about any of that soon." Luke replied. "I've almost got all the equipment ready to open my diner. I bought a bunch of old tables at a yard sale the other day. I found some chairs at Mrs. Kim's antique shop, they don't match the tables, but they were cheap. Once I find a cash register, a second cook, and get my food handler's card, we're in business."

Lorelai smiled. "That's great news." She began to feed Rory her cereal.

Luke scooped the eggs onto plates and set them on the table. "The best part is, you can be my waitress…" Luke wrapped his arms around Lorelai's waist. "And we won't need a baby sitter for Rory, she can stay with us at the diner."

"Hmm… how much does this job pay?" Lorelai asked teasingly.

"Well, the pay isn't much." Luke replied. "But the benefits are outstanding." He kissed her on the neck. "And don't worry, you've got all the qualifications."

Lorelai laughed. "Easy, tiger. Have you thought about what you're going to name your diner?"

"They don't already come with names?" Luke asked. He glanced down at Rory. "What do you think, Rory? What should I name my diner?"

A few gurgles and laughs came out of Rory's mouth, but nothing that could be put on a sign or menu.

"How about Luke's? It's simple, straight to the point, and everyone in town already knows you, so they can just say "hey, let's go to Luke's" and everyone will know where to go."

"Hmm… seems a bit conceited." Luke noted. "How about Luke & Lorelai's?"

"Oh, no… you're not putting my name on the sign." Lorelai rejected. "It's your diner."

"L&L's?" He suggested.

"Luke, stop." Lorelai smiled.

"Fine… well, call it Rory's." He laughed.

"We're calling it Luke's, end of discussion."

"Alright, but when people ask why I was so conceited and selfish to name it after myself, I'm going to tell them you made me do it."

"I'll take that bullet." Lorelai replied. She grabbed Rory from her high chair. "I'll take Rory over to Miss Patty's; see you at work."

A quick kiss and Lorelai was out the door. After dropping Rory off at Miss Patty's, Lorelai headed for Taylor's market. Before she reached her destination, Sookie practically appeared from no where.

"Lorelai, I have bad news." Sookie said.

"What?" Lorelai asked, stopping dead in her tracks and focusing all her attention on Sookie.

"I just heard that Chris failed out of Princeton."

Lorelai laughed. "That doesn't sound like bad news to me. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when Strobe got the failing notice."

"He's coming back here." Sookie added regretfully. "To go to Yale."

Lorelai's mouth dropped. "He failed out of Princeton, but got into Yale? How is that possible?"

"I guess his father pulled some strings and got him in on probation."

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, Yale is New Haven. I doubt I'll ever see him."

"I hope that's true. I just wanted to make sure that you knew." Sookie frowned. "If you need anything… anything…"

"I know, Sookie." Lorelai smiled.

"Well, I have to go… Chef class starts in twenty minutes."

Lorelai leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She kept telling herself that Christopher would never return. After all, he didn't want anything to do with Rory. Besides, Chris would just fail out of Yale like he did Princeton and then it'd be on to the next school on the list. There was no reason for Lorelai to get alarmed. In fact, there was no reason to even give it a second thought.


	43. Day Tripper

Lorelai, Luke, and Sookie finished unloading all the tables and chairs. Lorelai had set up the cash register that Al was nice enough to give to Luke. After some dusting, mopping, and straightening, the diner was ready for business.

"Luke, I just want to say thank you, again," Sookie replied.

"Sookie, you've told me thank you a hundred times." Luke smiled.

"I know… I'm just happy you're letting me help cook here at the diner. I mean the experience will be so helpful with my chef class and I'll also have you as a recommendation once I graduate. This is just so wonderful!"

Lorelai uncovered the large coffee cup sign. "We should hang this before it gets dark."

"Yeah…" Luke replied. "I'll get a ladder." Luke ran to the back of the diner.

"Wow…" Sookie said as she gazed at the sign. "This makes it official."

"I'm trying to talk him into menus, but he says he's going to just write everything he severs on the huge black board over there."

"Oh, but menus would be so much nicer and more convenient."

"Don't worry, he'll give in eventually." Lorelai smiled. "Wait till 100 people ask him for a menu and for the 100th time he tells them to look at the black board."

"Oh yeah, that'll get old fast." Sookie replied. "Hey, while you guys finish hanging up the sign, I could go pick up Rory for you."

"That'd be great, Sook."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few."

Luke returned from the back with a ladder. "Where's she going?"

"To pick up Rory."

"Oh… come on, lets hang the sign." Luke carried the ladder outside and Lorelai followed with the sign. Within a few minutes, the sign was hanging above the door. "Does it look straight?" Luke asked, still standing on the ladder.

From the ground Lorelai replied. "Well, maybe a little higher on the left side. No, that's your left, I meant my left."

"It's the same left." Luke groaned.

"Fine… the right side should be higher."

"How's this?" Luke leaned forward across the ladder.

"Perfect." Lorelai smiled.

"Are you sure? Cause I'm not climbing back up here."

"I'm sure."

"Alright. I'm coming down." Luke climbed down the ladder and stood beside Lorelai. "Lorelai… it's crooked." He scoffed.

"It is not." She defended.

"It is too, the right side is too high."

"The right side is perfect."

"Then the left side is too low." Luke retorted as he scaled back up the ladder. "There…"

"Luke, now it's crooked." Lorelai folded her arms.

Luke sighed. "It's fine." He climbed back down the ladder. He gazed up at the sign. "See, now it's straight."

Sookie walked up behind them with Rory in her arms. "Oh, Luke, your sign is crooked."

Lorelai tried to hold back her laughter, but couldn't resist. Luke grumbled and climbed back up the ladder, returning the sign to the way Lorelai had suggested.

The next day, Luke's was open for business. The first hour, Luke only served one cup of coffee and that was to Lorelai.

"Hey, don't worry… business will pick up. You have to give people time to hear about you." Lorelai comforted.

"I told all the people in my chef class about it." Sookie added.

"Miss Patty said she'd stop by for lunch." Lorelai smiled. "Maybe Stars Hollow just isn't much of a breakfast town."

"Yeah, it's probably more of a lunch town." Sookie replied. "Hamburgers and hotdogs…"

"And French fries." Lorelai grinned.

"Maybe you guys are right." Luke shook his head.

The bell above the door rang and Daisy stepped in. "Hey." She greeted. "What's the best thing on the menu?"

"Can't beat the pancakes." Lorelai smiled.

"Alright… I'll have one order of pancakes and bacon please." Daisy replied. She spotted Rory sitting in her playpen by the counter. "Hey, sweetie." She walked over and picked her up. "Goodness, Lorelai she's growing like a weed."

"Tell me about it." Lorelai replied. "I no sooner by her an outfit and she's outgrown it."

"She looks just like you." Daisy added. "I believe I even see a little bit of Joan in there."

A loud bang echoed from the kitchen. Lorelai turned around and saw Luke and Sookie crawling in the floor. She rushed back to them. "What happened?"

"Luke knocked me down!" Sookie replied as she wiped the pancake batter from her face.

"What!" Luke replied. "I did not!"

"I was making the pancakes… you saw me making the pancakes…"

"You were making them wrong." Luke tried to stand from the floor but slipped and fell again.

"Oh, and that gives you the right to knock me down!"

"I didn't knock you down!" Luke replied.

"Guys!" Lorelai shouted. "You're going to have to learn to work as a team. Sookie, you make the pancakes. Luke you fix the bacon."

"Why does she get to fix the pancakes?" Luke asked.

"You can switch next time, okay?" Lorelai sighed and turned back around to Daisy.

"Looks like a little confrontation in the kitchen." Daisy replied.

"Oh, it'll work out." Lorelai smiled.

Daisy placed Rory back in her playpen and returned to the counter. "Lorelai, I'll be honest with you. I feel you deserve that much. The word around town is that no one wants to eat at a place run by teenagers. People are expecting the food to be nasty, the diner to be unclean, and the service to be horrible."

"What?" Lorelai asked, her mouth gaping. "Why would people think those things. It's not like that at all. We cleaned for hours yesterday. And our food is great. Luke is a great cook and Sookie… she's so creative and our service… well, we've not actually gotten to that part yet, but I know it will be great too."

"I know, sweetheart." Daisy sympathetically replied. "It's just going to take some time to convince everyone that Luke's is a creditable diner."

"Well, spread the word Daisy. Best pancakes you've ever eaten."

"Of course." Daisy smiled. "Not to mention the cleanest diner I've ever been to, with fantastic service to boot."


	44. PS I Love You

Luke sighed, "Two customers…"

"Luke, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Lorelai… sorry doesn't help."

"What do you want me to do?" Lorelai asked as she repositioned Rory on her hip.

"I don't know…" Luke buried his head into his hands and stared down at the ground. "If I don't make this diner work, we're ruined. We've quit our job at Doose's, but we couldn't live off that income for much longer anyway…"

"Luke, this _will_ work… give it more time. We can pass out flyer's tomorrow… we could offer some specials to attract more business… we could make menus." Lorelai smiled. "Come on, don't let this get you down."

"We made ten dollars today." Luke replied. "Ten dollars doesn't even cover how much it cost to make my food card."

"Well, tomorrow we'll shoot for twenty."

"Do you have to be so optimistic all the time?"

"If I weren't, I'd be dead by now." Lorelai leaned down and kissed Luke gently. "I'm taking Rory to bed. I'll see you in a few…"

Luke glanced up at the beautiful baby in Lorelai's arms. "Goodnight, Rory." Luke smiled.

"Night, night!" Rory sweetly answered.

Luke stood from the porch step and took a deep breath. It was harder to be an adult and manage everything on your own than he had ever given his parents credit for. Luke had always admired his father, and loved him very much, he only wished he could be half the man William was. Determined to not let himself, Lorelai, or Rory down, Luke began to plan out his new sales strategy. He would take Lorelai's advice and start with flyers.

The next morning, Luke stood outside his diner handing out flyers and greeting potential customers.

"Hey, how yah doing?" Luke smiled. "Come try out breakfast menu. This week only, waffles are one dollar, add two slices of bacon for fifty cents. Like our breakfast? Come back for lunch."

"Oh, my God." Sookie said in amazement as she watched from inside the diner. "I've not seen Luke this social high school."

Lorelai smiled. "Kind of nice, isn't it?"

"Well, he's being fake friendly…" Sookie noted. "But yeah, it's nice."

"I hope it works. He's practically giving the food away since he's lowered the prices so much."

"True…" Sookie shook her head. "People may not like it when he boosts them up later."

"Well, he's hoping they'll like our food and service so well, they won't mind paying extra after this first week."

Before long, Luke had moved indoors and was helping Sookie in the kitchen. Lorelai was constantly handing out plates and taking down orders. The diner was nearly full by 10:00 am.

"This is incredible!" Sookie rejoiced as she continued to stir more batter. "I bet we've served fifty customers already…"

"I hope it stays busy like this all day." Luke replied while frying the bacon.

"Well, we'll have to start serving lunch soon."

"11:00?" Luke asked.

"11:00 sounds perfect."

Lorelai returned to the kitchen. "Wow…. People are really happy out there. They're talking amongst themselves about how clean the diner is, how good the food tastes, and how good looking the waitress is…" Lorelai smirked.

Luke quickly turned around. "Who said that?"

"Oh, just these old women… I think they're sisters… here in town for some bargain shopping."

"Oh…" Luke calmly turned back around.

"And these really hot guys from Hartford Community College told me they'd be in town all weekend. Wanted to know if I was interested in maybe hanging out…"

Luke dropped his spatula and jerked back around with a look of anger and jealousy all over his face.

"I'm kidding…" Lorelai replied as she grabbed another plate of food. "They actually go to Hartford Technical College." She took back off to the tables.

Sookie laughed. "Relax, Luke… Lorelai's only got eyes for you. She just likes to see that green side of you show every now and then."

"It's not Lorelai I'm worried about…" Luke replied. "It's jerks like that out there…" Luke pointed to the two guys in which Lorelai was referring.

"Sweetie, they're not Lorelai's type. "

"Lorelai isn't their type either." Luke added. "All she'd have to do is mention her year and a half old baby, and they'd run for the hills."

Sookie gasped and turned around. "Luke, that's a horrible thing to say!"

"What?"

"You make it sound like Rory is a shackle on Lorelai."

"That's not what I meant it all!" Luke defended. "I'm just saying, most guys aren't interested in women who already have children."

"Well, apparently you're very interested."

"Of course… but I'm not most guys." Luke lightly boasted. "Besides, I'd love Lorelai if she had no children, or ten children. It wouldn't matter to me."

Sookie let a smile cross her face. "I guess as long as you feel that way, then what you said isn't that bad."

"Lorelai feels the same, right?"

Luke's out of the blue question kind of caught Sookie off guard. "Uh, yeah… yeah… Lorelai would love you no matter what." Sookie replied.

"I mean, she's the only girl I've ever cared this much about you know. I can only assume she really cares a lot about me. I mean she's living with me for God's sake." Luke continued on with the conversation with his back turned to Sookie as he persisted to cook. "Honestly, what other guy has ever had this much of an affect on Lorelai?"

"Christopher..." Sookie replied blankly staring ahead.

Luke laughed lightly. "Christopher…? That weasel can't hold a light to me."

"Luke…" Sookie barely said above a whisper. "Christopher is here."

Luke turned and saw Chris about enter into the diner. With a mighty stare of anger and resentment Luke left the kitchen. He zoomed past Lorelai, who was coming back for another order. Lorelai nearly dropped her plates as Luke rushed past.

As Chris opened the door to the diner, Luke was standing directly in the door way.

"No." Luke said calmly.

"Excuse me?" Chris asked.

"No. You're not welcome here." Luke firmly stated. "Leave."

"I'm not here to see you." Chris replied.

"You can't see Lorelai."

"Oh, well, good news, not her to see her either." Chris took a step forward.

Luke shoved him back outside the diner. "You sure as hell aren't getting near Rory."

"Back off, Luke!" Chris roared.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was focused on Luke and Chris. Lorelai hurried over to Rory's play pen and scooped her up into her arms.

"I'll back off, when you leave." Luke stepped outside the door towards Chris.

Lorelai handed Rory to Sookie and quickly headed towards the boys. "Hey! Knock it off! Both of you!"

"He started it!" Chris replied, not taking his eyes off Luke.

"What do you want Chris?" Lorelai asked.

"I want to see my daughter." Chris said, slowly moving his eyes to Lorelai.

"Why?"

Chris snarled. "What do you mean, why? She's mine, I want to see her. I have a right."

"The hell you do…" Luke grunted through his teeth.

"I don't think it's a good idea, right now." Lorelai replied stepping in front of Luke and slowly pushing him back inside the diner.

"You can't keep me from seeing her, Lorelai. She's just as much mine as she is yours… and she's nothing to you Luke… remember that."

Lorelai let out an annoyed sigh. "Chris, just go away… alright… if you want to see Rory we'll work something out later, but for now just go away."

Chris slowly shook his head. "Alright… I'll be back." Chris took off down the street.

"You're not serious?" Luke asked. "You're going to let him around Rory?"

"He's her father… I can't legally keep him from it."

"He doesn't want to love her, or spend time with her, or a be a father to her… he just wants to get back at you and cause problems!"

"You think I don't know that!" Lorelai asked in a very high whisper. "I know he's scum… I know he's selfish and heartless prick… I'd rather have Rory raised by wolves than by Christopher, but like it or not, she's his blood."

"Blood doesn't mean anything, Lorelai. You of all people should know that." Luke turned and walked back into the diner.


	45. I Wanna Be Your Man

"I don't agree with this at all." Luke replied. "I think it's a bad idea and you shouldn't do it."

"Yes, you've made that clear." Lorelai returned.

"Why are you doing this?" Luke asked in a voice that almost made him sound heartbroken.

"Because, I never want Rory to think I kept her from seeing Chris. I don't want to keep something like that from my child. I know how it feels to not know who your father is… and even though I never admitted it to my mom, I've always felt this sense of incompleteness because I don't know who my real father is."

"He's probably some jerk, just like Chris, and you're life is much better not knowing him."

"Maybe…" Lorelai answered. "But I'd at least liked to have met him. To know we had the chance to be father and daughter."

Luke sighed. "Alright… but if she's missing one strand of hair from her head when I see her again, Chris will be missing his entire head."

"I'll be with them the whole time." Lorelai smiled. "But I appreciate that you're so protective… I'll see you later this evening." Lorelai leaned over and kissed Luke. "I love you."

"I love you." Luke repeated.

Lorelai picked up her daughter who was contently playing in the living room and walked out the door. Minutes later, she was at the park, waiting for Christopher.

"Lorelai…" Chris' voice called. He was smiling from ear to ear, as if nothing bad had ever happened between them. "Hey…" he walked closer and spotted Rory. "And this must be Rory"

"Yeah, this is her." Lorelai replied. "All 24 pounds."

"Hey, little girl… I'm your daddy." Chris smiled. "Can you say daddy?" He gently took Rory from Lorelai's arms. "Oh, she looks like you. That's probably for the best, however." Rory immediately began to cry. Chris bounced her in his arms, trying to sooth her. "Aw, don't cry…" Chris begged.

"Mommy…" Rory stretched her arms out for Lorelai.

Chris reluctantly handed over the toddler. "I guess it'll take some time for her to get used to me." Once in Lorelai's arms, Rory was satisfied and her tears dried. "So, are you hungry? Would you like to get some lunch?"

"No…" Lorelai replied. "I'm fine."

"Or we could go for a walk…" Chris suggested. "Maybe go by the pond."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed. "Chris, do you think this is a date?"

"No." Chris quickly replied. "Not a _date_… I just thought it would be a good time to talk. And… fix some of the stuff between us."

"We can't fix what's betweens us."

Chris' voice saddened. "Please don't say that."

"Did you even want to see Rory at all?" Lorelai's temper began to flare. "Or was she some excuse to get me alone with you?"

"No… I mean, yes… Yes I do want to see Rory, she's the whole reason I'm here. She's the reason I want to fix us… you know… we're her parents. We should be on good terms at least, right?" Chris was fluttering so much, it was nearly comical.

"If you want to spend time with Rory, you have until 3:00. After that, I'm taking her home." Lorelai's voice was firm and confident. "I don't have anything to talk to you about. I don't have anything I want to say to you."

Chris gazed down at the grass. "You hate me that much?" he asked.

"I don't hate you, Chris. I don't hate anyone." Lorelai replied honestly. "But I have nothing for you."

"You can't even pretend to like me, just for Rory's sake?"

"That's why I'm here right now…"

Chris shook his head. "Okay… I get it." Chris turned his back and began to walk away.

"You're leaving?" Lorelai asked.

Chris didn't turn around, he kept his back to Lorelai and Rory. "Yeah… I am. There's no point for me to be here."

"If you choose to walk away, now…." Lorelai began. "I'll never give you this opportunity again."

Chris didn't stop he continued to walk until finally he was out of sight. Lorelai felt an awkward feeling of sadness, not for herself, but for Rory. Here was her father's chance to be a part of her life, and he chose to walk away. Maybe Luke was right, Rory may have been better off never knowing, than having to deal with the fact that Chris wanted nothing to do with her.

"Come on, sweetie…" Lorelai said softly. "Let's go home."

As Lorelai and Rory walked through the door, Luke stepped out of the kitchen. "Let me guess, he didn't show?"

"He showed." Lorelai answered.

"Yeah, figures, five minutes with the kid and he thinks he's father of the year." Luke muttered.

"He wanted to talk to _me_… he wanted to work things out with _us_. When I made it clear, that there would never be an _us _again, he walked away." Lorelai set Rory down on the floor by her toys. "You were right… I shouldn't have taken Rory down there. She'll never get over her father walking away from her."

Luke was beginning to feel guilty "Hey, she probably won't remember this… she's only a year and half old." Luke tried to reassure.

"She'll ask me one day who her real father is, and why we're not married, and why she's never met him… and I'll have say, "You have met him sweetheart, when you were a baby… but he decided to walk away."

"Lorelai, you're acting like you wanted him to stay."

"I wanted him to be a father… even if he was the worst boyfriend, the worst friend, the worst son… I wanted him to be a good father." Lorelai's somber voice was depressing.

"I'll be her father." Luke said before thinking. Lorelai's eyes quickly shot up at Luke. Deciding to stand by his statement he took Lorelai by the hand. "I'd love to be her father."

"Luke… what are you saying?" Lorelai asked.

Luke gazed deep into Lorelai's eyes. "I'm saying… I want to marry you."


	46. Hey Jude

"Lorelai, please say something." Luke replied, unable to tolerate the dead silence between them.

Lorelai, who was slowly coming out of her shock, blinked her eyes several times. "I can't marry you…" she said weakly.

"Why?" Luke asked, not yet ready to admit he had rushed into things.

"I'm 18…" Lorelai's nervous voice answered. "I have a-a baby… and… and I haven't finished high school… you haven't finished high school."

"Marriage wouldn't stop you from going back to school…" Luke took Lorelai by the hand. "I love you, Lorelai. I love Rory too."

"I love you too… very much… but marriage…" Lorelai's voice hardened as she ended her sentence. "I'm not ready for marriage."

A smile crossed Luke's face. Not because he was happy to hear these words come from Lorelai, but because it was the only way to keep from showing how hurt he really was. "We already live together… we even have sex."

"I know."

"I opened the diner for you and Rory… we're already a family. What would be so different about being married?" Luke stared strongly at Lorelai, refusing to let go of the conversation.

"It's just different…" Lorelai looked away. "Luke, please, don't do this."

"How is different?"

"It just is…" Lorelai was becoming upset.

"Come on, Lorelai, if you're going to turn down my proposal, at least give me a better reason that "it's just." Is it the commitment?" Luke asked.

Lorelai was quickly getting a head ache. "I think two years is a commitment…"

"But marriage is an ultimate commitment… and you can't make that." Luke concluded. "You can't make it, because you don't know if you're going to stay here. It would be easier for you to walk away, if we stay unmarried."

"Wow, you are really jumping to conclusions, not to mention placing words in my mouth."

Luke huffed. "What am I, Lorelai? Am I just a friend or am I more?"

"Of course you're more."

"Are you just leaning on me until you get back on your feet?"

"Luke…" Lorelai's hurt voice replied.

"Do you _ever _want to marry me?" Luke stepped closer to Lorelai. "Do you?"

At a loss for words, Lorelai replied. "I don't know."

"You don't know…" Luke repeated lightly. "You don't know…" he turned around quickly and then with a sudden jerk he was facing Lorelai again. "Well, I don't know about us then."

"Please stop this." Lorelai begged again.

"Tell me, Lorelai… in another two years, where would we be? Living here… working at the diner… you the brave single mother raising your daughter, me the guy that was kind enough to let you stay with me? I don't want that… I want to be your husband… I want to be Rory's father…"

"I can't promise you those things, Luke. It's wrong of you to back me into a corner."

"I'm not backing you into a corner, I'm asking you to marry me… either yes or no and there's only one answer, Lorelai!" Luke's anger was beginning to show. "Which one is it?"

After a short pause, Lorelai parted her lips. "No." she said softly. "I won't marry you."

Luke lowered his head and gazed down at the floor. "Then I don't see a point for this relationship."

Lorelai fought back the tears long enough to give Luke her reply. "Well, if that's how you feel, then there isn't a point. Rory and I will look for another place to stay tomorrow."

Luke nodded his head. "Fine. I'm going out. I don't know if or when I'll be back."

"Fine." Lorelai barely spoke, determined to not let Luke see her cry.

He rushed by Lorelai, then by Rory and straight out the door. Lorelai collapsed onto the couch and began to weep.

(The next morning)

"Sure, you can stay with me as long as you want." Sookie replied. "I get lonesome in my new apartment."

"Are you sure you have enough room?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh yeah, not a problem." Sookie smiled.

Lorelai carried in her and Rory's things, there were still a few things left at Luke's that she would pick up at another time. "It'll only be for a short while…" Lorelai replied. "Just until I can find a place of our own."

"You stay as long as you need to stay."

After Lorelai had unpacked her and Rory's things, her and Sookie were sitting in the living room. Lorelai stared blankly into dead air.

"Lorelai, what happened?" Sookie asked respectfully.

Lorelai's eyes drifted to Sookie. "We broke up." She barely said above a whisper. "That's all there is… we broke up."

Sookie frowned. "People don't just break up… I'm sure whatever it is, it can be fixed. You and Luke are _so good _ together."

Lorelai sighed. "Sookie… It's better this way. I have Rory. I need to go back to high school… I need to get a place of my own and take care of my daughter."

"I thought Luke wanted to help you with all of that?"

Becoming frustrated Lorelai snapped. "Well, maybe I don't want Luke's help."

"Okay…" Sookie quickly replied.

"Sookie, I'm sorry.I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Hey, it's okay. You're going through something tough right now. I'm not helping by asking all these annoying questions."

"You're not annoying Sookie." Lorelai smiled. "You're the best friend I have."

Sookie smiled as well. "Everything will work out. Just give it some time."

"What if the solution is worse than the problem?"


	47. If You Love Me, Baby

"Oh, Lorelai, I wish I could change your mind." Sookie regretfully spoke.

Lorelai let a small smile cross her face. "We'll be fine, Sookie. I promise we'll come back to visit."

"London is so far away…"

"Don't think of it as good bye." Lorelai replied. "Think of it as, see you later."

Sookie tried to not let her emotions show. "You could stay here, I don't mind having you with me."

"I know, Sookie. You've been more than a friend, you've been a angel, but I can't continue to stay here, we've invaded your apartment for the last two weeks. I don't have enough money to find my own place… I refuse to go back to Hartford. Like there's a place for Rory and me, anyway. London is all that I have right now."

"Are you sure Richard's mother will take you in?"

"I've talked to her over the phone… she's not thrilled about the idea, but says she can't leave a Gilmore stranded without a home, so…" Lorelai scooped Rory up into arms. "It'll be good for Rory to see another culture, you know."

"And Luke?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai's face saddened. "I think this will be best for both of us. He'll move along much quicker without me in town."

"Are you telling him that you're leaving?"

"I wrote him a note." Lorelai replied. "I haven't had the courage to give it to him yet… I was kind of hoping… maybe…"

"I'll give him the note." Sookie smiled.

"Thank you, Sookie."

"Your welcome." Sookie embraced Lorelai. "Promise you'll call and write and visit as much as possible."

"I promise…" Lorelai remarked. "And I want you to do the same."

"I will." Sookie placed her hand on Rory's small head. "Stay sweet, Rory." Sookie gently kissed her. "I'll come with you to the airport if you want."

"Thanks, but I can take it from here. See you later, Sookie." Lorelai smiled.

"See you later."

Lorelai climbed into the cab with Rory in her arms. After the cab had pulled far enough down the street, Sookie broke down into a small cry. Lorelai had been such an inspiration and a true friend. She knew she would never find another Lorelai. Gazing down at the letter in her hands, she decided to take it to work with her at the diner.

"You're late." Luke noted as Sookie walked through the door.

"I'm sorry." Sookie replied.

"I've had to serve all the customers by myself." He complained.

Sookie sighed, ever since the break up, Luke had been so hateful and unfriendly. He refused to hire any extra help, but Sookie didn't know how much longer they could make it without a waitress.

"Luke, this is for you." Sookie handed Luke the letter.

Luke took the piece of paper and threw it down on the counter.

"Well, aren't you going to read it?" Sookie asked.

"I'll read it later. I'm working now." Luke muttered as he flipped the eggs.

"I think you should read it now." Sookie forcefully replied.

"Who are you to tell me when to read my mail?"

"Luke, just read the damn letter."

Luke grabbed the letter from the counter and opened it. He quickly skimmed through the letter reading it to himself. Finally, he crumbled it in his hands and glanced back up at Sookie.

"Why didn't she give this to me herself?"

"I don't know, Luke… _Why _would Lorelai feel like she couldn't talk to you? Or tell you good bye?" Sookie asked.

"Well, if she thinks she's better off in London, then…"

"Stop!" Sookie shouted. "Would you listen to yourself? Both of you are pretending there is nothing between you! You two have so much to lose… do you know how lucky you are to have found true love?"

"True love?" Luke asked, becoming upset. "I asked her to marry me… and she told me no! So much for true love!"

"You what?" Sookie asked unable to believe what she had heard.

"I guess she didn't tell you that… did she?" Luke asked in a calmer voice. "I offered to be her husband… and Rory's father. She turned me down. _She_ ended _us_."

"Why didn't you just wait… give her time?" Sookie asked.

Luke quickly wetted his lips. "She has no intentions of every marrying me. I don't want to be with someone who doesn't love me."

"She loves you, Luke." Sookie replied with certainty. "She's been a mess these last two weeks."

"She offered to leave… I never kicked her out."

"Don't you want her back?" Luke didn't answer. Instead he stared at the crumbled paper in his hands. "Don't you want to try?"

"Lorelai doesn't give second chances, Sookie." Luke somberly answered. "And I'm not much for asking for them."

Sookie shook her head. "If I have to keep trying to convince you to stop her from leaving this country, then I suppose it's not true love. I really thought you loved her, Luke. I thought you were the one. I was wrong. I just hope you can live with yourself knowing that she's moving to London and you had the chance to stop her and didn't." Sookie took off her apron. "I appreciate the job you've given me… but I think it's time I find another one."

"So you're walking out on me too?" Luke asked. "Everyone's walking out on me!"

"No, Luke. Everyone isn't walking out, you're just standing still."

Sookie threw her apron onto the counter and left the kitchen. Luke reopened the crumbled paper in his hands.

"Sookie!" Luke yelled just as Sookie was about to open the diner door. She turned and faced Luke. "Watch the diner till I get back."


	48. The End

Lorelai sat patiently with Rory in her lap. Her flight would be leaving in a matter of minutes, and though she was anxious and a little excited, she was mostly terrified. Her life had been an uphill battle for so long. She thought she had found something steady with Luke; something that wouldn't fall apart. But the moment he mentioned marriage, Lorelai knew the bottom was dropping out. So, London, not such a bad place for a fresh start. Lorelai knew that her grandmother would make sure Rory had the finest education. The rich life wasn't something that Lorelai missed or craved, but compared to being poor and homeless, it was a much better alternative.

"Flight 322 to London, England is now departing."

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Well, sweetheart, that's us." She held a bag in one arm and Rory in the other and walked towards their gate.

Luke had definitely broken at least six laws on his way to the airport, but he would worry about that later. He hadn't realized the intensity of this situation. Even though he was happily going along with this silly fight between them, it wasn't until this moment that he realized how much he was about to lose. The thought of never seeing Lorelai again was too much to bare. The idea of Rory growing up and Luke not being there tore him apart. He was sorry for his foolishness. He never should have tried to pressure Lorelai into marriage. He should have been satisfied with what they had cause what they had was a wonderful relationship and a beautiful life.

Running into the airport, Luke immediately found the information desk. "I'm looking for a Lorelai Gilmore… she's heading out on a flight to London." Luke replied breathlessly.

The woman scanned through her papers. "I'm afraid the last flight to London has already boarded."

"What?" Luke asked. "When?"

"About five minutes ago. Flight 322. It's not taken off yet, but all the passengers are getting on board as we speak. I'm sorry, but there's no way to reach them."

"She can't go." Luke forcefully said. "You have to send someone down there and tell her she can't go!"

"Sir, I can't do that." The woman replied, becoming a bit afraid of the demandingly strange man.

"You don't understand… I love her and she's leaving because of me." Luke placed his hands on the service desk. "I know these appears like some corny movie from television but I'll never see her again if you don't stop her!"

"Sir, please back away from the desk, or I'll be forced to call security."

Luke backed away from the desk and hurried to window facing the runway. He saw Lorelai's plane close it's doors and prepare for take off. At that second, his heart broke in two.

"Lorelai…" He said softly as he placed his hand on the large glass window. "Please, don't go."

Within only seconds, the plan was speeding down the runway and soaring through the air. It was hours before Luke could bring himself to leave the airport. He kept hoping that Lorelai and Rory were still somewhere around. Perhaps they had missed their flight, or Lorelai had changed her mind. Finally, Luke had to face the cold truth that Lorelai was gone. It was odd how empty he felt. They hadn't spoken a word to each other in the last two weeks, but this was the first time he actually felt like she was gone.

When Sookie spotted Luke walking into the diner alone, with his head lowered and his hands stuffed into his jacket pocket, she knew he hadn't made it to the airport on time. He quietly made his way into the diner's kitchen and took a beer out of the back cooler.

"We've had good business today." Sookie said brightly. "Taylor even wants us to cater at the next town meeting."

Luke looked over at Sookie. "That's good." He replied. "We could use the extra money."

"There's a young boy who came by today… he's looking for a job. I told him you did the hiring and to come back by tomorrow."

Luke nodded his head. "I may hire him. If he's willing to wait tables."

"He said he'd do anything." Sookie smiled. "I guess he's pretty desperate."

"Well, we'll see how things go tomorrow."

"Luke, if you'd like to go home… I can take care of the diner for the rest of the evening."

Luke swallowed heavily. "Yah know, I don't think I can ever go back home. It's too big of a house… too empty."

"I'm sorry." Sookie said softly. "I really am."

A smile ran across Luke's face. "Well, life goes on… I think I'll go for a walk and clear my head."

"If you're not back before closing, I'll shut everything down." Sookie replied.

"Thanks, Sookie."

(London)

The gigantic door to the mansion opened. "Lorelai… welcome."

"Hi, Grandma." Lorelai smiled. "This is my daughter, Rory."

"Rory?"

"I named her Lorelai. Lorelai Leigh, actually."

Trix smiled. "Well, she certainly has a proper name."

"Thank you for letting us stay here."

"Yes, well, I've always believed in taking care of your own." Trix rang a bell that was sitting by the door. A young man appeared within moments. "Marvin, please take the bags up to the guest room. Well, come in…" Trix opened the door wider allowing Lorelai and Rory to enter.

Lorelai was astounded at how beautiful and large her grandmother's house truly was. Much more magnificent than Richard's and Emily's house in Hartford.

"I know you asked me to not mention any of this to your father." Trix began. "But I feel he has the obligation to ensure your safety and your wellbeing. I was shocked to hear that he has neglected you all of these years and refused to be a part of your life, however, upon talking to the woman he is currently married to, it is no longer a question of why he's became such an appalling man and a poor excuse for a father."

"You talked to Cecelia?" Lorelai asked, a small smile crossing her face.

"I suppose that's her name." Trix replied. "She seems to have altered your father for the worse. I'll be quite satisfied if I never meet her. Talking to her over the phone was very much enough for me. You know, she never even put Richard on the phone, after arguing with her for several minutes, she finally revealed to me he wasn't home. Rest assure, next time I do engage in conversation with your father he will know my feelings towards this_ Cecelia_."

Lorelai sat Rory down onto the floor. "Grandma, you do know that he's not really my father… I'm not actually a Gilmore… I…"

Trix held up her hand. "Lorelai, I know about you and who you are. You are my granddaughter… and you are by all means a Gilmore. Now, I'll give you and your little one here, time to unpack your things and rest before we have dinner."

"Yes, ma'am." Lorelai replied.

Trix gazed down at Rory. "She has beautiful eyes. Much like yours when you were a baby."

"You remember?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course I do." Trix answered. "I flew in a few days after Richard and Emily had adopted you. You were quite the talk of the family, you know."

"Really?" Lorelai was suddenly feeling much better and very welcomed by her grandmother.

"Oh yes, Sabrina was very jealous of Richard for quite a while. She can't stand to have the spot light taken away from her."

"That sounds like aunt Sabrina." Lorelai laughed. "I haven't seen her since… well, it's been a long time."

Trix nodded. "Yes, it has. You've been living without your family for far too long. We've much to catch up on. Now, go unpack." Trix pointed to the stairs.

Lorelai picked up Rory and headed upstairs. As she entered into the guestroom her breath was taken away by the beautiful the view of her bedroom window. She walked outside to the balcony and gazed over the landscape.

"Wow…" Was all she could reply for several moments. "Well, Rory… what do you think of your new home?"

_END_

_A/N: I know by this point many of you are feeling upset that this story has ended. However, I would like to take this chance to say there will be a sequel coming soon for those of you who are interested. I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you all have had enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing. I'm eager to begin the second part of my story and have many fresh ideas awaiting. I hope this fanfiction was different, unique, and one of your favorites for that's what I set out to accomplish. Thank you again for your devoted support. _

_Rebecca Smith _


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